PPP Loan Deadline Extended to May 31

Small businesses now have an additional two months to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program. The March 31st deadline has been pushed to May 31, thanks to the Senate on passing the PPP Extension Act of 2021.

Passage of the PPP extension came nearly one week after the House approved the bill. In addition to pushing back the deadline for applications by two months, the measure gives the Small Business Administration (SBA) an additional 30 days to process loans. The extension was met with wide support from both lenders and small business groups alike.

Extension Helps Address Issues

The extension will help lenders and businesses that have faced errors in the application process. Also, in the current round of PPP, the SBA increased security to address fraud. That meant application times were much longer for some small business owners. Last April, the SBA suffered a data breach that exposed sensitive data of approximately 8,000 small businesses.

“I’ve noticed over the last week to 10 days there’s been a tone of panic coming back again,” said Chris Hurn, chief executive of Fountainhead Commercial Capital, a non-bank lender. Now that the bill has passed, everyone will be able to breathe a big sigh of relief, he said.

The SBA has said that there is about $79 billion in funding left, which restarted in January with $284 billion.