Small businesses in Maryland were approved for $6.5 billion in loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, designed to offer relief from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Loans went to 26,068 businesses statewide as of noon Thursday, when the first-round of funding in the $349 billion program ran out, according to a Small Business Administration report.
Overall, 1.7 million loans were approved in the U.S., processed by 4,975 SBA-approved lenders, the report said. The report did not say how many loan applications were denied.
The average loan was for $206,000. The program offered loans of up to $10 million to employers with fewer than 500 workers to help with payroll and other expenses during the pandemic.
Most loans, nearly three quarters, were for $150,000 or less. Only 4,412 loans, representing less than one percent of approved applications, were for $5 million or more.
The program offered funding for up to eight weeks of payroll, mortgage and rent payments as well as utilities to businesses that keep workers on during the crisis.
Top industries for the first round of loans, based on overall funding, included construction, professional, scientific and technical services, manufacturing, health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services and retail, the SBA said.
M&T Bank, which funded 6,600 loans totaling more than $1.3 billion in the Baltimore region, was the program’s fifth biggest lender nationwide, doling out $6.6 billion to 27,929 businesses. The bank said those loans should help pay more than 621,000 employees.
In the Baltimore region, M&T said its average loan size was about $195,000 and its loans will help support 127,422 jobs.
Though thousands of businesses in Maryland are being helped by the program, part of the $2 trillion coronavirus aid package passed by Congress, thousands of others found themselves cut off as funds ran dry.
A survey of 21 community banks in Maryland found that 4,883 applications were pending or in process when the SBA closed the program to its authorized lenders. Those applications represent a combined $665 million in loans to businesses that employ 17,389 people, according to the survey by the Maryland Bankers Association.
Congress is considering a new appropriation, and banks say if that happens, they are prepared to quickly submit pending applications on a first-come, first-served basis.
Baltimore County economic development officials said Monday they’re planning a series of free webinars to help small businesses and workers find local, state and federal stimulus programs and other resources. Each webinar will feature panels of local experts.
The first, on small business relief, is planned live via Cisco WebEx at 1 p.m. Tuesday, with access information posted on the county website at baltimorecountybusiness.com. Panelists included legal and financial professionals.