PROVIDENCE – Over 4,000 Rhode Island small-business applicants have been approved for $875.6 million in forgivable loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, according to information released by the SBA on Tuesday.
Nationwide, the payroll-relief program has supported more than 1 million approved loans worth $247.5 billion, leaving less than one-third of the original $349 billion federal allocation up for grabs.
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Rhode Island’s share represents .35% of the total dollars approved, and an average loan size of just under $213,000, versus the national average of $239,000.
Applicants seeking $150,000 or less comprised 70% of approved loans, though just 15% of dollars allocated. Construction-industry businesses were the top applicants by dollar amount, those representing professional, scientific and technical services had the highest number of loans approved.
The update comes as Congress works toward authorizing an additional $250 billion for the payroll relief program, despite concerns over a chaotic rollout as local lenders scrambled to process large volumes of applicants without clear federal guidelines. Locally, a handful of approved applicants had received the money as of Monday, with banks and credit unions planning to ramp up loan closures and deposits over the course of the week.
A separate $10 million allocation the state launched on Monday to help businesses unable to submit applications through existing lenders reached capacity within hours; Gov. Gina M. Raimondo on Tuesday said she was planning to ask loan partner Goldman Sachs to invest more money into the program.
