SBA expanding PPP to small banks on Friday

The Small Business Administration is expected to grant more small lenders access to the Paycheck Protection Program portal on Friday.

The SBA and the Treasury Department, which are administering the program, will allow participants with less than $1 billion of assets to process new and second draw applications in two days, an SBA spokesman said. All other lenders will gain access on Tuesday.

A formal announcement with more details is expected shortly.

The portal reopened on Monday, with initial access limited to community development financial institutions, minority depository institutions and other mission-based lenders, representing about a tenth of all participants.

Bankers all all sizes are making preparations to process applications once they receive access to the portal.

“We set up an email group for [existing] PPP customers and we’re contacting customers who did not take PPP in round one,” said Todd Nagel, CEO of the $1.7 billion-asset IncredibleBank in Wausau, Wis.

The SBA had been vague about the date for expanded access, stating in a Monday press release that it would begin in “a few days.”

Congress allocated $284.5 billion for a new round of PPP lending as part of the stimulus package that became law on Dec. 27. The funds include $15 billion for community financial institutions, designed to provide more funding to minority- and women-owned business and other underserved groups.

In addition to new loans, the new version of PPP includes a provision allowing existing borrowers with 300 or fewer employees to apply for up to $2 million of fresh capital, if they can show a 25% reduction in revenue in at least one of last year's quarters.

The SBA released two interim final regulations providing initial guidance on the renewed PPP on Jan. 6; the application forms were released two days later. The portal was opened for new borrowers on Monday, while applications for second draws will start to be accepted on Wednesday.