SBA to Provide Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus up to $2 Million in Disaster Assistance Loans

SBA Administrator Jo­vita Carranzaissued the following statement last Friday in response to the President’s address to the nation: “The President took bold, decisive action to make our 30 million small businesses more re­silient to Coronavirus-re­lated economic disruptions. Small businesses are vital economic engines in ev­ery community and state, and they have helped make our economy the strongest in the world. Our Agen­cy will work directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest disas­ter recovery loans to small businesses that have been severely impacted by the situation. Additionally, the SBA continues to assist small businesses with coun­seling and navigating their own preparedness plans through our network of 68 District Offices and nu­merous Resource Partners located around the country. The SBA will continue to provide every small busi­ness with the most effec­tive and customer-focused response possible during these times of uncertainty.”

Process for Access­ing SBA’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disaster Re­lief Lending

•TheU.S. Small Busi­ness Administration is of­fering designated states and territorieslow-inter­est federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering sub­stantial economic injury as a result of the Corona­virus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Gover­nor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as pro­vided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropria­tions Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.

•Any such Economic Injury Disaster Loan as­sistance declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available to small business­es and private, non-profit organizations in designated areas of a state or territory to help alleviate economic injury caused by the Coro­navirus (COVID-19).

•SBA’s Office of Disas­ter Assistance will coordi­nate with the state’s or ter­ritory’s Governor to submit the request for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assis­tance.

•Once a declaration is made for designated areas within a state, the informa­tion on the application pro­cess for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance will be made available to all affected communities.

•SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the tem­porary loss of revenue they are experiencing.

•These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and oth­er bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75 percent for small busi­nesses without credit avail­able elsewhere; businesses with credit available else­where are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75 percent.

•SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments af­fordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are de­termined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each bor­rower’s ability to repay.

•SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just one piece of the expanded focus of the federal government’s coordinated response, and the SBA is strongly com­mitted to providing the most effective and custom­er-focused response possi­ble.

For additional informa­tion, contact the SBA di­saster assistance customer service center. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877- 8339) or e-mail disas­tercustomerservice@sba.

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