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Paycheck Protection Program Loans Ran Out. Here’s Where the Money Went.

Paycheck Protection Program Loans Ran Out. Here’s Where the Money Went.

Since the U.S. government launched the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help keep small businesses afloat as they grapple with the economic effects of COVID-19, the program has received plenty of criticism.

Banks were vastly underprepared and under-informed about the program, which made them ill-equipped to support their customers. Adding to headaches, small business applicants were often left wondering if their application was approved and if and when they would receive funds.

Now on April 16, the program’s $349 billion has dried up. In some ways, this is a sign of success. Small businesses across the U.S. have been granted access to funds that otherwise they would now have via PPP loans. So where did the $349 billion go?

We checked in with data aggregation site covidloantracker.com which offers the following stats:

  • 11,300+ small businesses have applied for loans
  • 4% of small businesses have received their PPP funds
  • Average loan size was $216,000
  • The median PPP loan size is $98,500
  • Average payment speed is 8.2 days

The banks who distributed these loans primarily consisted of small, regional banks, which issued 76% of the funds. JP Morgan Chase paid out 10% and Wells Fargo and Bank of America each distributed 1%.

While small businesses from all 50 states received funds, more than half (54%) of the PPP fund recipients hail from Texas, while 21% came from Georgia, 30% from California, 18% from Wisconsin, and 16% from Illinois.

As for what’s next, Congress is currently working on adding more funds to the program. The cash should be available to small businesses “soon.”