SAN ANTONIO – Two days after Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement Monday that the federal Paycheck Protection Program would be the focus of his small business initiative, the U.S. Small Business Administration reported nearly $350 billion in PPP funds had been depleted.
Janie Barrera, president and CEO of LiftFund, the community-based lender in San Antonio that is processing loan applications in Texas, said she was aware there would be a cap to how much money would be available.
However, she said, “We were not aware the limit would be set or met within 48 hours."
Barrera and two local small business owners had been part of the governor’s announcement.
By the time it was learned all the PPP money had been loaned out to try to meet the overwhelming demand, Barrera said LiftFund already had been processing applications and getting them in the system.
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She said of the nearly 2,000 applications that came in asking for a billion dollars in relief, nine totaling almost $800,000, were successfully submitted to SBA and funded just in time.
Still, Barrera said, “LiftFund is devastated. It’s a sad situation that we have so many people in the pipeline right now that were told to sit and wait.”
She said of those, 900 are eligible for PPP loans.
"The important thing to remember is that LiftFund has not stopped processing those loans," Barrera said.
"We want to make sure that those 900-plus applications are ready to go when the green light is given," Barrera said.
When that will be or how much more money will be allocated is unknown, according to Barrera.
“If these funds are not restored, my position is that we go and find where these monies can come from,” Barrera said. “It is imperative that we find a way to help to small businesses.”
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