BANKS ARE OPTING OUT OF THE GOVERNMENT’S PPP LOAN FORGIVENESS PROCESS – By Bryce Covert (The Intercept) / Aug 22 2021
Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and PNC have all passed on an SBA policy that would allow small business owners some relief.
AT LEAST THREE major banks have decided to opt out of a new process for getting Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven directly by the Small Business Administration, The Intercept has learned, leaving their small business customers with no other recourse if the banks refuse to forgive loans or drag out the process.
Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and PNC have all decided to opt out, according to emails shared with The Intercept.
They are major players in the program, which Congress created to offer businesses loans to spend on payroll and other qualified expenses to help weather the shutdowns. As of the end of May, JPMorgan Chase was the top PPP lender, followed by Bank of America in the No. 2 spot; PNC is No. 11. All told, lenders representing just half of all outstanding PPP loan forgiveness applications have opted in, according to the SBA.
PNC recently sent an email to Jesse Grund, owner of personal training studio Unconventional Strength in Orlando, Florida, saying, “Considering we have already built a streamlined end-to-end digital portal and associated review process for your PPP forgiveness application; we will be opting out of using the SBA’s forgiveness portal.”
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