The Trump administration has relented to public pressure and pledged to provide more details about which small businesses received loans from a $600-billion-plus coronavirus aid program. But government watchdogs say even more transparency is needed to get an accurate picture of who was helped, and…
The Trump administration has relented to public pressure and pledged to provide more details about which small businesses received loans from a $600-billion-plus coronavirus aid program. But government watchdogs say even more transparency is needed to get an accurate picture of who was helped, and who was left out.
Experts say this could paint an incomplete or misleading picture. Recipients of smaller loans could be part of a bigger company that would be hidden, and it won’t be clear what percentage of loans went to minority-owned businesses.A factory located in a minority neighborhood, for example, could be owned by an individual or conglomerate based elsewhere.
Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who heads the Senate Small Business Committee, said Friday that Treasury’s plan to disclose more information strikes the right balance.As of Friday, the SBA said it had processed 4.6 million loans worth about $512 billion. Nearly 75% of the money approved so far has gone to businesses borrowing more than $150,000. But 86% of the loans have gone to businesses borrowing less than $150,000, according to the SBA.
The pandemic has caused a deep recession and the U.S. unemployment rate is above 13% after falling slightly in May. Economists have said the small business loan program has helped, although it’s hard to know by how much.The SBA has so far only provided general information about the beneficiaries of its loans, such as the industry they are in and the state in which they are located.
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