PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island secured about half the forgivable payroll loan funds in this year compared to the 2020 program, but the number of recipients declined by 11%, suggesting smaller average loan sizes.
Nearly 16,000 Rhode Island small businesses secured $976 million in forgivable payroll loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, according to the latest update from the U.S. Small Business Administration published on Tuesday. By comparison, $1.9 billion in loans was doled out to 18,000 state recipients during the 2020 version of the program.
While the 2021 program data is not yet finalized, major updates are not expected, since the program closed to all but the loans submitted through community financial institutions or those already being processed as of May 4. About $14 billion was still up for grabs as of the May 4 closing – $8 billion reserved for CDFIs and $6 billion for loans under review. How much of that is still available as of the latest, May 9 update is unclear.
Demand for the second-round of program funding, which began in January, was steady but significantly slower than in 2020, and had declined significantly in weeks prior to the program closure. The abrupt announcement the program had run out of funding as of May 4 cut short what was expected to be a May 31 ending date. By contrast, the 2020 version still had $134 billion up for grabs when it ended in August.
Nationally, the second-round program fueled 5.7 million loans totaling $260 billion, for an average loan size of $45,000. In 2020, the program funded $525 billion across 5.2 million loans.
Women and minority-owned business recipient data is still murky, since a majority of a majority of recipients still do not identify their race or ethnicity.
Demographic and industry data was not available by state.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
