Although the Trump administration had promised to deliver aid quickly, most small-business owners who applied for federal loans to help them survive the COVID-19 pandemic are still waiting for money, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program opened April 3, offering loans to companies with 500 or fewer employees. When it launched, the Small Business Administration promised up-front advances of up to $10,000 within three days. Yet many early applicants faced problems with the SBA’s technology used to process loans and approve new lenders and are still waiting for funding, fueling anxiety among business owners.
“There are very few business owners who have successfully gotten the money,” Amanda Ballantyne, executive director of the small-business advocacy group Main Street Alliance told the WSJ. “Money isn’t flowing yet.”
