Issue: Upon the conclusion of the Payroll Protection Program’s (PPP) conclusion, the Small Business Administration (SBA) funded approximately 12 million loans in the amount of approximately $800 Billion were funded with the goal of helping small businesses cover essential expenses and retain their work staff amid the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A key element of the program was the ability for a borrower’s loan to be forgiven in full, based on meeting certain criteria regarding the manner in which the funds were spent i.e., payroll, rent, utilities, etc. Though a significant majority of the loans were auto reviewed via SBA Loan Review Programs, a considerable number of loans remained that required a more thorough manual review for reasons such as quality control, potential foul play, or other hold reasons generated by the auto review.

After our solution: The Loan Specialist Team at SIG has been able to play an influential role in the success of the PPP Forgiveness Support mission reviewing all types of loans requiring manual review and successfully granting forgiveness to those borrowers that meet the required criteria. More specifically, the SIG Team has become specialists in elevated level, technical-in-nature reviews that are often associated with ineligibility or foul play at the time of application. Aspects that are regularly reviewed by the team include fraudulent activity, identity theft, miscalculation of eligibility, etc. Given the strengths of the Team and the nature of their reviews, two of the main goals regularly achieved are 1.) Forgiveness in Full and 2.) Identification of borrowers that can be referred for further investigation in hopes of recuperating improperly distributed funds.

Benefit: The skillset of the Loan Specialist Team at SIG continues to supply great contributions to the goals mentioned above. By providing thorough and accurate analysis of borrowers and loans, the SBA can continue working towards its mission of servicing small businesses across the country with capital needs. Additionally, it is ensured that the use of the funds distributed in the PPP Program were used appropriately and within the guidelines of the program.