In late April, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) began accepting applications for the second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds.

The PPP helped more than 1.66 million small businesses nationwide, and protected over 30 million jobs.  About 75 percent of the loans were made for under $150,000.  

In Oklahoma, SBA has approved more than $4 billion in loans to 35,557 borrowers.  Officials are encouraging all approved lenders to process loan applications previously submitted by eligible borrowers and disburse funds expeditiously. 

During its initial run, the SBA was able to process more than 14 years’ worth of loans in less than 14 days.

Businesses that have accessed the program include retail, food and hospitality services, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and more.

Nearly 5,000 lenders participated in the program, including many community banks and credit unions.

With the additional funding provided by the new COVID-19 relief package, SBA will resume processing Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Advance Loan applications on a first come, first-served basis. 

SBA is adding about 3,500 additional temporary personnel to support the workload. For information, visit www.sba.gov/coronavirus.