By: Mark A. Mangano
The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced its intention to launch a loan forgiveness portal for lenders on August 10, 2020. Loans made by lenders under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to qualified borrowers may be forgiven in whole or in part if certain certifications as to the use of the loan proceeds are satisfied. While the SBA has issued forgiveness application forms and extensive guidance on the process, there remains no mechanism to submit forgiveness applications.
On July 23, 2020, the SBA issued a procedural notice to SBA lenders participating in the PPP (Notice).1 The Notice provides that lenders may begin submitting forgiveness applications on August 10, 2020. The date may be extended if any legislative amendments to the forgiveness process necessitate changes to the system. The portal may only be accessed by or on behalf of the lender of record for the PPP loan forgiveness application being processed. The portal may not be accessed by borrowers.
The Notice contains a review of previously issued guidance on the forgiveness application process. It does not address borrower appeals of SBA determinations of forgiveness ineligibility but suggests SBA’s intention to issue an interim final rule on the topic in the near future.
1 SBA Procedural Notice, Control Number 5000-20038, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP–Procedural-Notice–Procedures-for-Lender-Submission-of-PPP-Loan-Forgiveness-Decisions-to-SBA-and-SBA-Forgiveness-Loan-Reviews.pdf