The economic policy and advocacy organization Financial Services Forum (FSF) is encouraging lawmakers to extend the Paycheck Protection Program beyond its current March 31 deadline.
Authorities noted the Paycheck Protection Program is a government program initially created by Congress last year during the CARES Act to provide fully forgivable loans to small business owners.
“The nation’s largest banks support efforts on Capitol Hill to extend the Paycheck Protection Program,” FSF President and CEO Kevin Fromer noted via a statement amid legislative consideration of the program’s continuation. “An extension will give thousands of small business owners and banks time to address issues on outstanding applications with the government and to fully implement changes to the program made by the administration earlier this month.”
Fromer indicated FSF members support the nation’s small businesses and look forward to continued service to that sector of the economy.
Financial Services Forum officials added the organization’s members have served as strong Paycheck Protection Program partners of the PPP program, facilitating $69 billion in loans to 848,696 small businesses last year.
Additionally, officials determined over one-third of those loans were made to businesses in communities where the majority of the people are minorities, and 91 percent of the loans by Forum members were made to businesses with 20 or fewer employees.