PPP By Numbers: Where the SBA’s Aid Has Helped the Most

Loans made through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have reached nearly half of all small businesses in every state in the US, according to new data.

The number of loans made through the emergency aid program equated to between 48% and 84% of small businesses registered in each state, according to the SBA’s data as of May 1.

The data – which was analyzed by the American Bankers Association (ABA) – showed that 83.8% of North Dakota-based smaller companies had accessed PPP loans, followed by South Dakota (80.6%) and Nebraska (80.1%).

At the other end of the scale, West Coast states recorded the lowest coverage. Just 48.2% of Alaskan companies had accessed the PPP, the ABA’s analysis showed, while 49.5% of companies based in Washington and Oregon had applied for loans through the program.

More than 4 million loans have now been processed through the PPP. This includes 2.5 million loans in the second round of funding, after the first $349 billion was exhausted in less than three weeks.

In the second round of funding, worth $320 billion, roughly 57% had been allocated, the SBA said.

Just over half of this total was lent by the largest banks and lenders – those with more than $50 billion in assets. Almost a third (32%) was lent by banks and lenders with less than $10 billion in assets.

The SBA’s breakdown of the second round of loans by state and territory showed that California had seen the most PPP activity as of May 8, with 376,803 loans processed totalling $35.8 billion. Florida was second with 222,570 loans worth $13.4 billion, followed by New York with 190,052 loans worth $18.8 billion.

More than 20 banks of varying sizes have published their own data on PPP loans processed.

Bank of America said it had processed 265,500 loans worth a total of $24.9 billion as of May 4 – 3.7% of the total value of the SBA’s program. PNC said it had facilitated 70,500 loans worth $14 billion, while US Bank had processed $7 billion worth of loans to approximately 75,000 small businesses.

The ABA has urged small businesses to continue to apply for support through the PPP as there is still more than $100 billion yet to be allocated.

Separately, the SBA has extended a “safe harbor” deadline for companies looking to repay their PPP loans quickly. Companies that repay the loans in full by May 14 will be deemed to have certified their need of the support “in good faith”, the administration said in an update to its Q&A document.

ABA chief executive Rob Nichols has called for more information from the authorities about how loans will be forgiven. Under current rules, PPP loans will be forgiven if the entire funding is spent on payroll, mortgage interest, rent and/or utilities in the eight-week period after receiving the loan.