CBA on Mnuchin Support of PPP Forgiveness for Smallest Businesses

CBA on Mnuchin Support of PPP Forgiveness for Smallest Businesses

WASHINGTON – Consumers Bankers Association President and CEO Richard Hunt issued the following statement after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated he would support automatic or a more streamlined forgiveness process for Paycheck Protection Program loans for the smallest loan recipients during a House Small Business Committee hearing:

“Forgiving PPP loans for mom-and-pop businesses would collectively save our nation’s smallest businesses more than $7 billion and hours of paperwork. Sec. Mnuchin is exactly right to encourage Congress to consider making the forgiveness process easier so business owners can spend more time and resources helping customers and restarting local economies than completing burdensome government paperwork.”

NOTE: CBA led a coalition of more than 140 small business borrowers and lenders in a letter to Congressional Leaders advocating for the passage of bipartisan legislation introduced by Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to streamline Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness for the smallest borrowers. The bipartisan legislation calls for streamlined forgiveness of PPP loans less than $150,000 if the borrower answers a simple, one-question attestation the funds were used in accordance to PPP guidelines to retain employees. The simplified forgiveness could collectively save the smallest small businesses owners more than $7 billion dollars and hours of paperwork. The coalition letter notes independent analysis by AQN Strategies anticipates the combined small business resource requirements of time and/or third-party expenses could represent an effective cost of $2,000-$4,000 for each business that applies for forgiveness, requiring 20-100 hours of time.

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