- Paycheck Protection Program loans to Connecticut businesses now exceed $1 billion, according to latest data from Small Business Administration
- A total of 11,600 businesses in the state have received loans
- Eligible companies encouraged to apply before March 31 deadline
Connecticut businesses have been approved for more than $1 billion in new Paycheck Protection Program loans, the Connecticut District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration announced Tuesday.
A total of $1,062,403,167 has been approved for 11,600 businesses. SBA Connecticut District Director Catherine Marx urged eligible companies to apply for PPP loans by the March 31, and encouraged borrowers to reach out to their lender or use the SBA’s Lender Match tool to get more information on the program.
Under the PPP initiative created last year in response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 5.2 million loans totaling $525 billion were disbursed with an average loan amount of $100,729. In Connecticut, 64,629 loans totaling $6.72 billion were approved.
Under the Economic Aid to Small Business, Nonprofits and Venues Act approved on Dec. 27, PPP was revived with $284.5 billion in new funding. Businesses can apply for a first draw loan of up to $10 million if they did not receive a PPP loan under the original program; borrowers seeking a separate loan are capped at $2 million, and must show that they suffered an annual revenue loss of at least 25 percent in at least one of the quarters of 2020.
Loans are also limited to smaller businesses. First draw recipients may have no more than 500 employees, while second draw recipients are limited to 300 or fewer employees. Certain other restrictions and limitations apply as well.
According to the SBA’s latest report on PPP lending on Jan. 31, 4,942 lenders have approved 891,044 loans totaling $72.74 billion since the program reopened on Jan. 11. This represents about one-quarter of the available funding.
Second draw loans are considerably more common than first draw loans, accounting for about $67.95 billion in lending to 664,708 borrowers. A total of $4.79 billion in loans have been approved for 226,336 borrowers. The average loan size for a second draw loan is $102,228, while the average first draw loan is $21,157.
While the average loan size overall is approximately $82,000, 67.9 percent of all loans approved so far have been under $50,000. Less than 1 percent of all loans exceed $1 million.
Eighteen percent of the loans have been approved for businesses in accommodation and food service. Another 14 percent went to construction companies, while 11 percent each were approved for manufacturing and professional, technical, and scientific services.
