19 Quotes from The Most Powerful People in Finance on Paycheck Protection Program Loans (PPP)

The Paycheck Protection Program, also known as the PPP, is a business loan funded through the SBA which has been designed to help eligible small businesses and non-profit organizations keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds from this loan are to be used towards payroll, but can also be used for rent and other business-related utilities that will help keep small businesses afloat.

As we continue to try to navigate through these unprecedented times, we look to those who can help guide us through. Here is what 19 small business leaders had to say about the Paycheck Protection Program, and the importance of providing relief to our nation’s small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Lloyd Blankfein – CEO, Goldman Sachs

“There will be some resentments that emerge because some people will have gotten help and others in a similar situation won’t have.” (source)

Drew Maloney – CEO of the American Investment Council

“Businesses across America are looking for support immediately in order to survive and continue to employ people. It shouldn’t matter if these companies are backed by investments from corporations, pension funds or others. We’ll continue to work with the administration and Congress to request that federal programs support all businesses, regardless of ownership structure, and their workers.” (source)

Amanda Fischer – Policy director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth 

“With such limited resources, policymakers should not be bailing out private equity general partners at the expense of small restaurants, barber shops and self-employed people. We saw from the 2008 crisis that private equity companies are some of the best-positioned firms after a crisis — gobbling up assets, increasing concentration and exacerbating inequality while workers and small business suffers. We shouldn’t repeat those mistakes.” (source)

Jim Cramer – TV personality on Real Money

“Consider the Fed and Treasury as ad hoc insurers demanding no premiums. Maybe it ends up being a small price to pay to avoid a depression.” (source)

Brian Moynihan – CEO of Bank of America

“It’s clear that between Congress, the administration and the American people, we need to get all these funded and not make this a foot race. Just get the work done.” (source)

Paul Merski – Lobbyist for the Independent Community Bankers of America

“Virtually every small business borrower believes that this will be forgiven. They took it out assuming that it would be a grant but it’s not — you have to abide by very complex rules and regulations on how this is spent.” (source)

“Now that over $500 billion of these loans have been approved, we’re really focused on the forgiveness phase, and the forgiveness phase could be 10 times more complex than the initial program.”

Steven Mnuchin – Treasury Secretary

“The objective here is to put people back to work.” (source)

Karen Mills – former SBA official, now senior fellow at Harvard Business School

“I have had countries including the U.K., Saudi Arabia, and Spain come to me and ask for the blueprint of the SBA, because they want to copy it.” (source)

Spokesman for Marco Rubio – the Florida Republican

“At the end of the day, if there’s a way to keep people connected to employment, that’s what we wanted to do.” (source)

Jamie Dimon – JPMorgan Chairman and Chief Executive

“Thousands of dedicated (staff) worked tirelessly over the past 30+ days to support the federal government in one of the largest and most ambitious emergency lending facilities in history.” (source)

Bridget Weston – CEO of SCORE  

“I really want all small businesses to remember how critical they are to this economy. So we just don’t want them to give up hope. It may be discouraging now, [but] we will help as many business owners as possible to get through this so they can keep their doors open and have a viable plan so that a year from now they are still running a productive and successful business.”

“We are recommending that small business owners reach out to either their landlords or other business vendors that they work with that have set costs and try to work out a plan and communicate to them what the small business owner is doing to get through these times.”

Jessica Mah – CEO of inDinero 

“This is a get-out-of-jail-free card — if you just follow the directions. And if you’re worried about all your other overhead that’s not employees, negotiate it. I’m telling everyone: ‘Negotiate with all your contractors and tell them to get their own PPP … and then negotiate a better price with them.” (source)

Bond, Schoeneck & King lawyer Jeffrey Scheer

“There are a lot of businesses that may be closed but are continuing to pay their employees, even if their employees are home. It may sound silly, but it does give you an opportunity to hire back your employees and pay them, even though they may be … on the bench, as we say. Consider even bringing people back to have them on call, ready to work again when you are able to reopen your business.” (source)

Ronald Kruszewski – CEO of Stifel Financial

“Just because a business, whether it’s an RIA or anyone else, can technically apply for a PPP loan doesn’t mean it should.” (source)

Calvin Corriders – Regional President of Pathfinder Bank 

“We’re all in this together. We’re inextricably tied. Our local legislators, our federal legislators — they’re all sensitive, all advocating for the same thing we’re advocating for.” (source)

Sen. Chris Coons – Member of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee

“These are some of our most vulnerable small businesses. Because you know, if they got an SBA loan, they probably had difficulty getting a traditional bank loan. So these are exactly the companies we want to make sure know that for the next six months, they don’t need to do anything.” (source)

Steven Mnuchin and Jovita Carranza – Treasury Secretary and SBA Administrator, respectively

“We have noted the large number of companies that have appropriately reevaluated their need for PPP loans and promptly repaid loan funds in response to SBA guidance reminding all borrowers of an important certification required to obtain a PPP loan.  To further ensure PPP loans are limited to eligible borrowers, the SBA has decided, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, that it will review all loans in excess of $2 million, in addition to other loans as appropriate, following the lender’s submission of the borrower’s loan forgiveness application.  Regulatory guidance implementing this procedure will be forthcoming. We remain fully committed to ensuring that America’s workers and small businesses get the resources they need to get through this challenging time.” (source)

Guy Crowgey – attorney for Crowgey & Associates

“Please make sure you clearly break out your PPP expenses paid for several reasons: your bank will want to see what the funds were used for, and also, for tax prep purposes. If you received $XXXXX in PPP funds, then your financial statements must also clearly show $XXXXX in PPP expenses.  Each expense should be clearly labeled PPP.  For Example: PPP-Officer Salary; PPP-Rent; PPP-Telephone.  This will allow everyone clear view of what the funds were used for.” (source)

George Soros – Chairman, Soros Fund Management and Open Society Foundations

“Any funds spent preserving worker paychecks and healthcare now will save money that would otherwise have to be spent on unemployment benefits and public healthcare later.” (source)