SC small businesses and other employers approved for $2.7B in emergency loans

Charleston Post and Courier
April 14, 2020

By Andrew Brown

Small businesses and nonprofit groups in South Carolina locked in more than $2.7 billion in federal emergency loans since the beginning of April, shoring up their finances and keeping their employees paid during the coronavirus pandemic.

That money is part of the new Paycheck Protection Program, a nearly $349 billion rescue plan passed by Congress at the end of March.

More than 14,000 employers in South Carolina were approved for the financing between April 3 and April 14, according to new data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration on Tuesday.

That’s reassuring news from those businesses and organizations as they continue to weather the public health crisis and the downturn in the economy.

The new loans are extremely advantageous to borrowers and the financing can be completely forgiven if the money is used correctly to cover payroll and other administrative expenses like rent and utilities.

Chappell Smith & Arden, a law firm in Columbia is one of the businesses that was able to successfully tap the emergency loan program.

Bill McArtor, the firm’s chief operations officer, said he submitted his application through First Citizens Bank in Columbia on April 6, and was approved for the loan two days later.

The law firm, McArtor said, is not in a dire financial position right now, but he said the federally backed funding will allow the firm to temporarily cover payroll and its 401(k) match program if new clients stop coming in.

The firm works primarily on personal injury and workers compensation claims, which could take a hit with so many manufacturing employees and other workers currently out of their jobs.

McArtor said the money hasn’t hit the law firm’s bank account yet, but he’s relieved to have the approval in hand.

Time is quickly running out, however, for other employers in the Palmetto State that are interested in applying.

The newly released data shows that more than 1 million businesses across the United States have already been approved for loans, sucking up more than $247.5 billion of the available financing.

That leaves roughly $101 billion left for millions of small businesses across the country that are still waiting for their applications to be processed through private lenders.

So far, South Carolina companies and non profits have accounted for 1.3 percent of the loans that have been processed and 1.1 percent of the money that’s been approved by the SBA.

Many businesses and non profits complained about the initial roll out of the loan program. Some banks just weren’t taking part they found out and other lenders told applicants they were only doing business with existing clients.

Frank Knapp, president of the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, said he’s heard from several small companies in the state which have not been able to punch their ticket for one of the loans yet.

He’s worried that many small businesses in South Carolina that are interested in the emergency financing are going to be left behind.

“I’m glad those 14,000 got it,” Knapp said Tuesday. “But there are going to be a lot out there who could not get in due to no fault of their own.”

https://www.postandcourier.com/business/sc-small-businesses-and-other-employers-approved-for-2-7b-in-emergency-loans/article_3f9a07e0-7e88-11ea-b7cf-fbf33f2330df.html

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