Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said that small business loans included in the coronavirus relief bill enacted late last week would be available to small business owners on Friday.
“I’ve said these loans will be available starting on Friday, which will be at lightning speed. We hope later today that we’ll be releasing the documents and the instructions,” Mnuchin told Fox Business.
The relief bill provides $350 billion to small businesses and other entities with zero-fee loans of up to $10 million to help cover payroll. These loans are available to businesses with 500 employees or less. The loans are forgivable to the extent that they are used to maintain payroll and pay other overhead.
“We think this covers about 50% of the private workforce. So, again, this is a very effective way that the president has designed for us to keep people at work so that when the economy opens up, they’re ready,” Mnuchin said.
Mnuchin also promised that the administration would request more money if it sends out the $350 billion and additional small businesses are clamoring for help.
“If we run out of money, and this is a huge success, we will absolutely go back to Congress and ask for more money,” he said.
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The application for the loan is already available on the Small Business Administration’s website. However, loans can also be obtained from FDIC-insured institutions and credit unions, Mnuchin said.
The $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill enacted by President Trump on Friday includes several other provisions aimed at small businesses, such as $17 billion in funding relief for businesses that already have SBA loans and $275 million in grants for certain businesses regarding counseling services.
