The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has issued new and revised guidance for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This guidance implements the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA), signed into law by President Trump on June 5, 2020, and expands eligibility for businesses with owners who have past felony convictions.

Key Updates

• The “covered period” for a PPP loan adjusted from June 30, 2020, to December 30, 2020
• For loans made before June 5, 2020, borrowers and lender may mutually agree to extend the maturity of such loans from two years to five years
• The maturity for loans made on or after June 5, 2020 is five years
• Those that submit a loan forgiveness application to a lender within 10 months after the end of the loan forgiveness covered period will not have to make any payments of principal or interest on the loan before the date on which SBA remits the loan forgiveness amount on the loan to the lender (or notifies the lender that no loan forgiveness is allowed).
• The SBA Administrator interprets the Act’s 60 percent payroll costs requirement to be a proportional limit on non-payroll costs as a share of the borrower’s private loan forgiveness amount, rather than as a threshold for receiving any loan forgiveness.
• The eligibility threshold for those with felony criminal histories has been changed. The look-back period has been reduced from 5 years to 1 year to determine eligibility for non-financial felonies. The period remains 5 years for felonies involving fraud, bribery, embezzlement, or a false statement in a loan application or an application for federal financial assistance. The application also eliminates pretrial diversion status as a criterion affecting eligibility.

Read the entire Interim Final Rule here.

Sambla is working with borrowers in Norway to provide financial assistance during this trying time. For borrowers interested in comparing loan options from more than fourty banks to discover the lowest interest rate offers are encouraged to complete Sambla’s free application here to borrow money: https://www.sambla.no/ulike-lantyper/lane-penger/.

Access the updated PPP Borrower Application here, and the Lender’s Loan Guaranty Application here.

Upcoming Webinars:

June 17 at 9 a.m. Keys to Recovery: Join the U.S. Small Business Administration and industry panelists for a webinar discussion highlighting the key HR, safety and financial issues that will help businesses formulate a strategy to innovate and adapt to the challenges presented by COVID-19. Click here to register.

June 18 at 11 a.m. COVID-19 Funding Options for U.S. Rural & Agricultural Businesses: The SBA Great Lakes Region, USDA Rural Development and USDA Farm Service Agency invite rural and agricultural businesses to join us for a livestream overview of COVID-19 funding options. Click here to register.

Additional Resources For Small Businesses

The SBA is committed to helping small businesses recover from the economic impact of COVID-19. Additional assistance includes:

• Funding: SBA 7(a), 504 and microloans, on which the SBA is offering Debt Relief; or, SBA Express Bridge Loans.
• Advising: The SBA Resource Partner Network for business resiliency readiness advising and training.
• Tax Relief: IRS information about tax relief for businesses.

State Resources: Ohio government COVID-19 response and programs