SBA approves 44,453 emergency COVID-19 loans to Illinois employers totaling $12.5 billion

With the demand going to exceed the supply of cash, the COVID-19 emergency Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses and nonprofits so far has approved 44,453 loans in Illinois, totaling $12.5 billion, according to the Small Business Administration.

Across the nation, the program known as PPP has pumped out 1,035,086 loans totaling more than $247 billion, through April 13, according to a PowerPoint the SBA supplied to the House Small Business Committee and obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

The loan leader under this new program is Texas, with 88,434 loans totaling $21.7 billion, according to the SBA.

The program was designed to help employers meet payroll and stay afloat for a few months as the COVID-19 crisis grows. A reason the program is wildly popular is that if the money is used to meet payroll, the loan is converted to a grant.

The $349 billion for PPP loans was created in the emergency $2.2 trillion federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — known as the CARES Act — signed into law on March 27.

While the totals show a large number of loans processed by lenders and the SBA in a short time, there are scores of frustrated applicants in Chicago and in the U.S. who are either having difficulty applying or can’t find out their status from their banks.

These numbers are the first snapshot available about the PPP loan distribution.

The window opened to apply to lenders for loans on April 3.

The $349 billion pot will soon be depleted, and Democrats and Republicans in Congress are negotiating over a second wave of billions of dollars shipped to the PPP program.

Here’s how the loan distribution breaks down, according to the SBA:

70% - went to 725,058 applicants who received $150,000 and under.

15% - went to 156,590 employers who got between $150,000 and $350,000.

9.9% - went to 102,473 who received between $350,000 and $1 million.

3% - went to 31,176 who got between $1 million and $2 million.

1.6 % - went to 16,516 loaned between $2 million and $5 million.

0.32% - went to 3,273 for sums more than $5 million.

Here’s how Illinois compares to several other large states:

Texas: 88,434 loans totaling $21.7 billion

California: 54,922 loans totaling $20.8 billion.

Florida: 52,021 loans totaling $12.6 billion

Illinois: 44,453 loans totaling $12.5 billion.

New York: 40,975 loans totaling $11.7 billion.

No information was provided on the number of loans denied or pending.

About a quarter of the total loan amounts went to employers in construction; professional, scientific and technical services; manufacturing; and health care and social assistance business.