May 18, 2020 2 min read

This is not a drill. If you received a loan from the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program in excess of $2 million and wish to return it, lest risk an audit or investigation into whether you applied for and were granted funds in bad faith, today is the day. (See items 43-46 on the SBA‘s seemingly infinitely scrolling list of FAQs.)

As we’ve reported over the past couple of weeks, the safe-harbor window for companies who may have made themselves vulnerable to unwanted scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Treasury has continually widened. And in addition, a broad presumption of good faith was ultimately extended to recipients of loans under that $2 million threshold. 

Still, publicly traded entities of all sizes, including those whose loans have ranged between $1 and $2 million, have continued to send their remittances back to the SBA. And while a number of those companies have stated that they acted within the SBA guidance as originally outlined, there will undeniably be more money available for privately owned companies struggling to keep their doors open in time for widespread lockdown restrictions to ease.

It is unclear exactly how quickly and expansively the sum total of returned funds will be redistributed to businesses waiting in the queue, but in the meanwhile, we recommend referring to our extensive, ongoing coverage of all things SBA PPP — and crisis management in the age of quarantine — at the following links.

Related: Recovery

Related: Stimulus

Related: Crisis Management

Related: News and Trends