Websites have crashed, phones are jammed and confusion reigns as businesses rushed at today's kickoff to get their chunk of the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program.
This is a race to save jobs in the present and the future, and to ensure that as many workers as possible keep their benefits and paychecks during the coronavirus lockdown.
To get every qualified business that needs a loan access to one before running out of cash.
"Borrowers are waiting for their money but the banks' hands are tied because they can't get into the SBA's portal," Paul Merski, who heads up government relations for one of the biggest community bank advocacy groups, told Axios.
60% of banks have not previously participated in SBA lending programs, he notes.
Some banks and lenders, like Wells Fargo, said they wouldn’t be ready to take applications today.
Others, like Bank of America, initially said they made the decision to only take customers who have previously taken out a loan with them to speed up the process. After a slew of outrage, it subsequently said small businesses that did not meet this requirement could deal directly with bankers to submit an application.
Because many banks only are accepting existing business clients, and some other banks aren't processing PPP loans at all, it's likely that many small businesses will get left out because they picked the "wrong" bank years ago.