A federal loan program is helping small businesses while hardships continue during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Home State Bank President Sid Jones says the Small Business Administration (SBA) developed a program called the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP), which he adds is something that he has never seen in his 40 years of banking. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio the program allows for up to eight weeks of a payroll loan to the small business for their employees to keep receiving a paycheck, as some small businesses were forced to close due to COVID-19. 

“It’s really a time where some money gets advanced to them through SBA. SBA is 100-percent guaranteeing these loans and they are just encouraging the banks to make sure the small business employee gets a paycheck here to tide them over this bridge while we’re hopefully waiting for this virus to exit to the point that those small businesses can reopen.”

Jones points out that as of Monday, Home State Bank had close to 100 applications and were going to fund between $6-8 million through the PPP program. He adds, they can help prepare and submit the application to SBA, SBA makes the final approval and then the bank can have the document signed and fund the loan.