Affinity's Current Status on SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans
The Economic Aid Act of 2021 was passed and signed into law by President Trump on December 27. The law contains a provision for $284 billion in a second round of PPP loans, "Second Draw". Guidance for the Second Draw was issued on January 7 by the Small Business Administration, "SBA", and new applications for First and Second Draw requests were provided late on January 8. On January 11, the SBA informed lenders that they believe there are sufficient funds for all eligible borrowers and they plan to roll out access in a measured fashion and have requested patience from all businesses during the roll out.
Affinity can begin processing both First and Second Draw PPP loans on Tuesday January 19. We are working diligently to finalize the electronic application and loan portal for you and anticipate it will be ready by Monday. We may launch First Draw applications on Sunday if our portal is ready early.
If you are interested in applying for a Second Draw PPP loan, or you did not receive the First Draw and would like to apply, please register below and Affinity will send you a link to our portal once our system has been updated. In the meantime, you can review the new Second Draw application and the revised First Draw application so you are prepared when Affinity issues the electronic form.
The following links can assist you in researching what you will need to apply for this round of PPP loans and allow you to begin gathering your required documentation.
PPP IFR Second Draw Loans
PPP IFR Paycheck Protection Program as Amended by Economic Aid Act
There are significant differences from the first round of PPP loans to the Second Draw. A summary of some of the differences is listed below. Specific guidance can be found in the links referenced above.
Yes, to be eligible for a Second Draw PPP Loan, a business must have:
In general, the maximum loan amount is the lesser of 2 ½ months average monthly payroll or $2 million.
Businesses with an NAICS code beginning with 72 are eligible to receive the lesser of 3 ½ months average payroll or $2 million.
Documentation will vary slightly based upon the loan amount and type of business but in general:
Second Draw proceeds may be used to pay for the following expenses during the Covered Period:
Please check all guides and FAQs issued by the Treasury and SBA for details to ensure proceeds are used correctly for forgiveness.
The Second Draw PPP loan has an interest rate of 1.00% and a term of 5 years. There are no collateral requirements. Interest and principal payments are deferred until either forgiveness is finalized or ten months from the end of the covered period which can be from 8 weeks to 24 weeks at member's selection. If proceeds are used per terms permitted, the loan may be fully forgiven by the SBA.
We are now working diligently to guide our loan recipients through the forgiveness phase of the PPP program. Note that there are some changes to the original PPP loan forgiveness that will be enacted with the Second Draw guidance, and Affinity will need to update procedures and forms to comply with these new regulations. If your loan has already been forgiven and was reduced due to prior EIDL advances, you may be contacted to adjust the forgiveness amount.
At present:
Members with PPP loans equaling $150,000 or more should have received an email with a link to an online portal to complete the forgiveness application specific to these loans and upload all supporting documentation. Once the covered period of your PPP loan has ended (either 8 or 24 weeks from the date the loan was loan funded), you may begin the forgiveness application process.
If you did not receive an email from Affinity inviting you to use our online PPP loan forgiveness application, please contact us at 908.860.7370 and leave a message including your name, the business entity name, email and phone number. A representative will respond to you within two business days.
The Economic Aid Act provided for a shorter form forgiveness application for PPP loans less than $150,000. For this reason, we are halting forgiveness for loans less than $150,000 until further guidance is issued. The SBA announced January 11th that the new form will be available on January 20th. Once published, Affinity will incorporate this form into our online portal and send out links to the system in waves.
If you need to activate your online portal sooner, please contact us at 908.860.7370 and leave a message with your name, business entity name, email and phone number. A representative will respond to you within two business days.
A guide to help you navigate our online portal can be found here. Information on how to complete the forgiveness application can be found on the portal. We also encourage you to refer to the SBA's Frequently Asked Questions here to ensure adherence to the program's forgiveness eligibility requirements.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is sending a cyber warning alert to loan applicants seeking federal aid in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Email phishing campaigns where malicious actors are impersonating the SBA and its Office of Disaster Assistance to collect personally identifiable information (PII) for fraudulent purposes have surfaced. For more information on how to recognize fraudulent emails from the SBA and how to report them visit, https://www.sba.gov/document/report-sba-programs-scams-fraud-alerts
Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as, together, we navigate the SBA PPP loan product requirements.
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