JPMorgan Chase says it likely will not be ready to support the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program when the program launches on Friday, April 3.
Related - PPP Program Updates: See ChannelE2E's latest PPP program updates, news and analysis here.
However, JPM and a second unnamed lender say they will move forward with the program once the banks receives additional guidance from the SBA, CNBC reports.
Short term, this is bad news from thousands of small businesses nationwide -- many of which need immediate Payment Protection Program loans to potentially survive the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic shutdown.
Still, it's clear that banks are committed to the program -- even as they await more execution details from the SBA. Also, the federal government has committed to refreshing the program with more money once the first rounds of loans are fully consumed on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Paycheck Protection Program, designed for small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, is designed to provide low-interest loans -- a portion of which can convert into grants (which don't have to be repaid) if small businesses achieve certain employment goals.
"We've heard feedback from lenders. We've been working around the close to simplify this program for all parties. It will be up and running on Friday, ," Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said during a Thursday afternoon press briefing after JPMorgan Chase's statement emerged.
And for those who are worried about missing out on loans on April 3, Mnuchin assured small businesses: "We'll go back to Congress for you to get more money."
ChannelE2E's best guess: Some banks will likely be ready to support the Paycheck Protection Program on Friday, April 3. But it's unclear if the first round of money will still be available once more banks come online with the program by Monday, April 6 and thereafter.
