U.S. Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) recently urged the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue prompt guidance explaining how the loan-processing system will be made available to all sizes of lenders and how the agencies will prevent future rounds of funding from being dominated by larger banks.
In an April 29 letter sent to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza, Rep. Collins expressed concerns about community banks accessing help in processing their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications.
“I have heard from a number of community banks in Georgia that are struggling to access E-Tran, SBA’s system for processing PPP loans and a necessary component of borrower approval,” Rep. Collins wrote. “Unfortunately, it seems community banks have been inadvertently shoved out of the application process.”
The congressman wrote that because of high demand for the program, SBA and the Treasury Department should issue guidance to make it easier for smaller, community banks to access the systems necessary for providing their borrowers with the opportunity to benefit from PPP.
Additionally, Rep. Collins requested that the Treasury Department and SBA publicize which companies have received PPP loans “to ensure Congress and the American people can understand where their taxpayer dollars have flowed.”