As part of ongoing transparency of economic aid programs, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently released data summarizing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan approvals made through Jan. 24, 2021.

The SBA re-opened the PPP Jan. 11 with $284 billion appropriated through the Economic Aid Act. So far in this round of funding, 7,706 PPP loans valued at nearly $530 million have been approved by the SBA in Georgia.

In the SBA Southeast Region – which serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee – a total of over 53,000 PPP loans valued at more than $1.7 billion have been approved.

Nationally, more than 400,000 loans valued at more than $35 billion have been approved this round. Overall, the average loan size is $87,000. Accumulatively, all PPP loans approved in 2020 combined with this round total more than 5.5 million PPP loans totaling $557.8 billion.

“This current round of PPP was designed to ensure increased access to funds for minority, underserved, veteran, and women-owned small businesses,” said Terri Denison, SBA Georgia District Director. “To address potential access to capital barriers, PPP access was initially granted exclusively to community financial institutions (CFIs) that typically serve these concerns. The SBA remains committed to assisting entrepreneurs in areas that may not have had an opportunity to utilize the program during round one of PPP as well as business owners that are prepared to apply for a second draw PPP loan to continue their recovery.”

The full Jan. 24, 2021 PPP Report includes national information on lender types, loan sizes, industries, and borrower demographics.

The data released in the report is a snapshot of the PPP loan portfolio as of Jan. 24, 2021. Any loan changes or cancellations made after this date will be not reflected in the report.

Approximately 4,500 lenders nationwide are participating in the PPP this round. PPP loans are made by lending institutions and then guaranteed by the SBA.

To best serve underserved communities – including minority-, women- and veteran-owned small businesses – the SBA has provided dedicated access to community financial institutions (CFIs) that specialize in serving these communities. At least $15 billion is set aside for PPP lending by CFIs which include Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs) and Microloan Intermediaries. The CFIs may be located (as well as all PPP lenders) by utilizing Lender Match.

While the PPP loan application expressly requests demographic information of borrowers so that the agency can better understand which small businesses are benefiting from PPP loans, the data reflects the information submitted by lenders to the SBA.

The SBA Georgia District continues to work in close partnership with the local SBA Resource Partner Network and expand on multilingual access and outreach about the PPP.

The deadline to apply for a PPP loan is March 31, 2021 or until appropriated funding runs out.

Updated PPP information – including forms, guidance, resources, lender information and data– is at www.sba.gov/ppp. Information about all SBA coronavirus relief funding is available at www.sba.gov/coronavirusrelief.