Small Business Majority Comments on Incomplete PPP Loan Disclosure Agreement

Washington, DC – Today, Small Business Majority Founder and CEO, John Arensmeyer, issued the following statement on the agreement between Congress, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) on how Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrower data will be made publicly available.

“We are encouraged that the Administration is finally taking steps towards transparency while also adopting our recommendation to protect the privacy of the smallest, most vulnerable PPP recipients with loans under $150,000. However, the agreement does not go far enough and will result in an incomplete and inaccurate picture of the program’s success and reach.

There are serious problems with PPP like the widespread reporting of business owners not receiving the full amount of the loan they requested. Matching historical trends, underfunding appears to be concentrated among business owners of color and women. Of the business owners in our network that applied for PPP, 23% report being underfunded, while among black and Latino business owners the rate is significantly higher. To understand how rampant this problem is, the Administration ought to release the loan amount requested and loan amount received for all recipients. Additionally, we fear that releasing grouped data for loans under $150,000 will result in an inaccurate portrayal of the program since most small businesses seek small-dollar loans. Absent comprehensive borrower information, gauging the true success of the program, and developing future policies to help small businesses recover will be incredibly challenging,” said Arensmeyer. 

On Thursday, Small Business Majority sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza that outlined a plan for how to accurately release borrower information, while protecting business privacy.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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