The one thing that has been consistent with the PPP’s ever-changing guidance is that patience is key. As of July 1st, both the Senate and the House have passed a bill to extend authorization of the PPP to August 8, 2020. The bill now awaits President Trump’s signature.
Additional changes may be coming as the Senate Banking Committee introduced The Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act on Wednesday. Although there has not been word of movement in the House, the proposed Act would provide automatic forgiveness to Borrowers who have a PPP loan of $150,000 or less, if a one-page attestation form is submitted to the lender. This would be the streamlined forgiveness we all have been hoping for.
Citizens Bank continues to urge you to consult your tax and legal professionals about the PPP and the timing of your forgiveness application. We understand many of you are anxious to get the PPP behind you and move on to making normal business decisions. However, the SBA is not accepting forgiveness applications from the bank yet, and you may find it advantageous to wait until we receive more direction from the Treasury and SBA. Any forgiven amounts will be forgiven on a principal and interest basis, so there is not added cost in waiting.
A link to the new legislation as well as a recent Forbes article regarding these changes have been included below.
Bill: https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s4116/BILLS-116s4116enr.pdf
Forbes Article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianthompson1/2020/07/01/house-passes-eight-week-extension-of-ppp-senate-proposes-automatic-forgiveness-of-loans-under-150000/#5d3d29967672
Citizens Bank recommends that you consult your outside advisors and experts in all matters relating to the PPP and loan forgiveness. We will work to provide you timely and accurate information, but the burden for obtaining forgiveness rests on the borrower. All information provided in this format or any other communication regarding the program is believed to be accurate, but no guarantee is or can be made by any Citizens Bank representative.
Please submit your questions to pppquestions@citizens-banking.com. Include the name of your business in your e-mail. We will endeavor to answer in a timely way with the best information currently available.