In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of eligible businesses have filed for loans through the Small Business Administration.
The SBA said it has handed out over $260 billion so far, but many businesses said their applications remained under review.
“It’s frustrating because I feel like the government failed us,” said Demetrius Ennett, who owns an Irving barbershop. “It’s like they said, 'Fend for yourself,' and that’s a bad place to really be in."
Ennett owns 5 Star Cutz and said he filed for an emergency loan through the SBA, as well as a paycheck protection program, which is handled through his bank. Both were filed weeks ago and he has yet to hear anything back.
“You are just stuck in limbo and while you are waiting, the bills are steadily piling up,” Ennett said.
To help pay his seven employees and keep the business afloat, Ennett has also applied for a $25,000 loan through a micro-lender that brings with it a 12% interest rate. It’s far from ideal, but due to the delay, Ennett said he believed he had little choice.
“I’m scared that this could potentially kill my business and I worked hard to build this from the ground up,” he said.
Business News
On Tuesday NBC DFW reached out to the SBA for an update on how many loans they have approved amid a spike in demand. Their response is below.
Paycheck Protection Program
As of Monday, April 13, SBA has approved over a million PPP loans nationwide, valued at nearly $248 billion. About 88,000 PPP loans have been approved for Texas small businesses. These loans are valued at nearly $22 billion.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans
This loan process has been streamlined and is done completely online. Once the borrower completes the online application and the loan is processed, the borrower will receive their eligible amount of EIDL advance funds (up to $10,000) into their bank account. They are not notified prior to the deposit of their EIDL advance, so they should check their account from time to time. Once the EIDL loan is processed and completed, they will receive an email from SBA instructing them to go into a loan portal and create a customer account so that we can then deposit their EDIL loan funds. These are two separate deposits. These loans are being processed as soon as possible.
Help SBA - positions available
SBA is hiring additional employees to assist with disaster relief efforts. Bilingual language skills are a plus. Remote jobs are available nationwide. We’re looking for Call Center Customer Service Representative (CSR), Document Preparation/Legal Review/ Loan Closings positions, Loan Processing/Credit Analysis/Mortgage Underwriting and Program Support positions.
