SBA identifies companies approved for largest PPP loans

PROVIDENCE – Roughly 2,400 Rhode Island businesses received at least $150,000 in forgivable payroll loans, with 14 companies approved for upwards of $5 million, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The SBA on Monday released information, including company names and the race and gender of owners, for all businesses that received $150,000 or more through the Paycheck Protection Program. Exact funding amounts were not specified; instead recipients were identified based on funding categories of $5 to $10 million, $2 to $5 million, $1 to $2 million and so on.

A majority – about 85% – of Rhode Island small business recipients were approved for loan amounts of less than $150,000; those recipients have not been identified. The partial release was intended to appease lawmakers who protested the initial decision not to identify recipients.  Several national news organizations also filed Freedom of Information Act requests for the names of loan recipients.

The 14 Rhode Island businesses approved for loans of at least $5 million are:

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  • Arden Engineering Constructors LLC
  • Brown Emergency Medicine
  • Brown Medicine
  • Cardi Corp.
  • Coastal Medical, Inc.
  • East Coast Interiors Corp.
  • Greystone of Lincoln Inc.
  • H. Carr & Sons Inc.
  • KVH Industries Inc.
  • Pet Food Experts Inc.
  • Rhode Island Medical Imaging Inc.
  • Taco Inc.
  • Technic Inc.
  • University Orthopedics Inc.

The full list of companies in each state that received loans of at least $150,000, as well as information (excluding names) of businesses with smaller loan amounts, is available on the SBA website.

As of June 30, more than 17,000 RI small businesses were approved for a total of over $1.88 billion in forgivable loans. The funds are estimated to support 200,000 jobs in the state, covering roughly 83% of the state’s small business payroll expenses. Of the funds approved in Rhode Island, roughly $400 million went to companies designated under the SBA’s Historically Underutilized Business Zones program.

Nationwide, roughly 4.9 million small businesses secured $521 billion in loans from the program, with just under $132 billion remaining.

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.