Spokane-area businesses continue to tap extended PPP program

Hundreds of Spokane-area businesses continue to obtain grants through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Payroll Protection Program, which has been extended another two months.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law the PPP Extension Act of 2021, which moved back the deadline for businesses to apply from Wednesday to May 31.

“More than 8.2 million PPP loans have provided struggling small businesses with the relief they need to keep workers employed and make ends meet during this pandemic,” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a statement. “The SBA remains dedicated to reaching the heart and soul of the nation’s urban, rural, and low-income communities – the smallest businesses – and removing barriers to access to this vital relief.”

Jack Heath, president and chief operating officer at Spokane-based Washington Trust Bank, said his employees continue to process applications even after two rounds of grant funding and rules changes that limited the number of businesses that qualified.

“The bottom line is that activity continues to be very high,” Heath said. “We did over 200 applications last week, and we are excited they extended the program and are encouraging those who qualify to please apply.”

Before the pandemic, the Small Business Administration mostly was known for providing disaster relief loans for catastrophic events such as hurricanes.

Since it began making PPP funding available last year, Washington Trust has processed about 2,800 applications that brought about $450 million to local businesses, Heath said.

After initially setting qualifications based on the number of employees, federal officials based the latest round of relief for smaller businesses that showed a 25% reduction in revenue from 2019 to the corresponding quarter of 2020.

“The demand and profile of the client (for the latest round) has been a little smaller,” Heath said. “The decrease in sales decreased the businesses that qualify. But that’s a good thing. That means they are doing better in the COVID world.”

Like Washington Trust, Spokane Teachers Credit Union continues to sign new businesses up for the latest round of PPP funding, STCU President and CEO Ezra Eckhardt said.

“We received about 15 more requests over the weekend and we have about 100 new loans in the pipeline,” Eckhardt said. “So, there is still plenty of demand.”

Heath agreed, saying that despite PPP loans being available for more than a year, several businesses continue to come forward, including many that didn’t know they qualified, he said.

“We are glad they extended the opportunity,” Heath said of the SBA. “I think this (new) round has been really focused on a lot of clients who really needed the funding.”

The local economy is already showing signs of some return to normalcy. Starting Monday, Heath said his employees began going back to work in local branches on a limited basis.

Local restaurants recently opened to 50% capacity, which forces owners to try to make their businesses work more efficiently with fewer employees.

“I think when the pandemic is over, they will be better companies and in a better position for whatever challenges come our way,” he said.

While Heath praised the funding that PPP made available, he said it’s still too early to know how many businesses it saved.

“Some businesses have access to the program and still may not survive. Hopefully, that’s limited and we can get back to … businesses working at full capacity. It feels like we are headed on the right path.”

Eckardt said that since the program became available last year, STCU has completed about 2,000 loans that brought about $75 million to area businesses.

Overall, Eckhardt believes all local lending institutions brought more than $2 billion in PPP funding into the local economy.

“Our estimates, based on the verbal conversations we have had with our members, are that we have allowed more than 5,000 employees to receive payroll through the entirety of the process,” he said.

“I’m certain that between the credit unions and the banks that we have had a demonstrable impact on the (local) economy.”