Farmers National Bank remains committed to providing regular updates to our borrowers as new information becomes available regarding the Paycheck Protection Program and subsequent forgiveness process.
Earlier this month, a bipartisan bill was introduced at the US Senate level entitled “Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act” which if approved would further simplify the forgiveness process for small businesses. The proposed terms of the bill include use of a single page attestation form for all PPP loans under $150,000 instead of completing the longer SBA Form 3508 or 3508EZ.
If approved this bill will result in an abbreviated process for smaller businesses so long as they have held to the terms and conditions of the program. It appears as though this bill has bipartisan support and may be presented for a vote within the Senate in a reasonable timeframe. It is prudent that we monitor this proposed bill closely as it would directly impact the forgiveness process if approved for these smaller PPP loans.
Last week an email was sent to all borrowers regarding the SBA’s request for lenders to delay acceptance of the forgiveness applications due to an unclear submission method of applications to the SBA. The SBA has since announced that it has created a new separate portal by which lenders will utilize to submit the borrowers PPP forgiveness applications.
The SBA further announced that it intends to open this portal this week for lenders to begin testing, however it is unlikely that their portal will be fully operational prior to July 27
th
to receive submissions.
The team at Farmers National Bank continues to test our internal portal where the PPP borrowers will submit their application information and supporting documents to the bank for review. Once the SBA gives lenders the order to proceed, borrowers will be invited in chronological order based on original loan closing date to submit their forgiveness application and supporting documents.
We remain available and committed to responding to all questions and inquiries regarding the PPP program and forgiveness. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the Loan Officer assigned to the county where your business/organization resides for assistance.
Warm Regards,
Robert A. Vernick
Senior Vice President
Chief Lending & Bus. Dev. Officer
NMLS# 977437
