ML-Implode News - Thousands of applicants, zero loans: Trump's small businesses lending program is a failure to launch

One day after the launch of a $350 billion loan program designed to rescue millions of small businesses pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic, technical glitches continued to cripple the ability of the nation's top lenders to begin processing the loans, throwing into doubt when any of the applicants will start receiving any money.
The lending program, which forms part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is a much-needed lifeline for the 30 million small businesses across the country. It offers loans of up to $10 million to companies who employ fewer than 500 people. Those loans are forgiven as long as the businesses meet certain conditions, such as using the majority of the funds to pay worker salaries for the eight weeks following the loan closing.

However, two of the nation's biggest banks say they have only just been able to start processing loans.

"We are all waiting on the Small Business Administration," a Chase senior executive told NBC News.
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With banks reporting tens of thousands of applications just in the first day, the system is already overwhelmed. The SBA usually processes about 60,000 loans in an entire year.

Despite this, President Donald Trump said in a news briefing Saturday that, "in 24 hours, the SBA processed over 28,000 loans."

It's worth reiterating that Trump is lying here; not a single loan has been funded. Remember, these were supposed to be emergency funds -- getting out as quickly as possible. As we suspected, it would have been better to just staff up the SBA and do these in-house, rather than going through banks. Would have created much-needed jobs, too. But grow government a tiny bit to save the economy? Seems like a non-starter for this administration...

Relevant:

Thousands of applicants, zero loans: Trump's small businesses lending program is a failure to launch