C-Suite Wednesday – Congress Seeks Information on PPP Forgiveness Backlog

April 21, 2021

Caity Roach
Editor

C-Suite Wednesday – Congress Seeks Information on PPP Forgiveness Backlog

Last week, a group of House Republicans sent a joint letter addressed to SBA Administrator Guzman, asking for information on the backlog of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan-forgiveness applications.

“While we are appreciative of the SBA’s ongoing efforts, there remains a large number of outstanding PPP loan forgiveness applications that have not received a response from the SBA,” reads the letter. “Under the Interim Final Rule issued on January 19, 2021, the SBA is required to issue a decision within a 90-day period from when the application is received. However, businesses and banks across the country are waiting past the 90-day deadline for a response.”

On April 8, 2021, the SBA published on its website that a forgiveness decision had been issued on 2.7 million PPP loans worth $227.6 billion. However, 195,000 loans worth $80.8 billion remained under review.

In order to reduce undue administrative delays and gain a better understanding of the circumstances regarding the PPP loan forgiveness backlog, Congress asked the SBA to provide them with:

  • The number of current loan forgiveness applications that are past the 90-day deadline;

  • The average number of days it takes to respond to a loan forgiveness application;

  • The frequency of inaccurate or incomplete applications in which a lender is asked to review and provide corrected information; and

  • Any information regarding staffing or resource shortages within the SBA that is impairing its ability to process loan forgiveness applications.

Although PPP forgiveness remains one of the most pressing issues, the SBA lending industry is also waiting for guidance on 504 refi loans, the launch of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grant program, and the reopening of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program. Some lenders also remain hopeful that Congress will pass blanket forgiveness for certain PPP loans.