#GAReads | Up to 90% of minority and women owners shut out of Paycheck Protection Program, experts fear
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“Up to 90% of minority and women owners shut out of Paycheck Protection Program, experts fear”:
Flaws in the Paycheck Protection Program are hindering small businesses owned by minorities and by women from securing federal coronavirus relief, according to lending experts and interviews with numerous owners.
Many diverse business owners applied for loans through the Small Business Administration program, only to come up empty because they either didn't qualify or the funds had been exhausted by the time their applications were processed.
"Based on how the program is structured, we estimate that upwards of 90% of businesses owned by people of color have been, or will likely be, shut out of the Paycheck Protection Program," said Ashley Harrington, director of federal advocacy and senior council for the Center for esponsible Lending, a non-profit group that combats abusive lending practices and recently examined the loan program's parameters.