Minority Businesses May Get Locked Out Of PPP Loans

According to Reuters, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reopened its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on Monday.

They are offering $310 billion dollars in loans for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

This is the second round of government funding aimed to help small business owners stay afloat during the pandemic.

But some U.S. senators, community banking groups and minority-owned banks are worried that businesses owned by people of color may miss out on receiving the loans.

Many lenders have a backlog of applications, and the $30 billion in funds for small lenders was depleted by Tuesday afternoon, leaving them to compete with larger firms for funding.

A New York Federal Reserve survey reports that only 32% of small businesses owned by Hispanics and 23% owned by African-Americans have received a bank loan within the past five years.