
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is one of two business loan programs created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to assist companies by extending potentially forgivable credit to small business employers. The PPP is designed to help cover employee-related expenses and help employers avoid layoffs. The prospect of forgivable debt, coupled with relatively favorable terms, have put PPP loans in high demand and many businesses, including some which had already sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, have sought PPP loans.
The CARES Act contains no bar to the granting of PPP loans to bankrupt companies. That said, section 7(a)(6) of the Small Business Act requires qualifying small business loans to be “of such sound value or so secured as reasonably to ensure repayment.” As a result, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) took the initial position that a PPP loan must meet the same requirements, and a loan cannot meet this standard if the borrower is a debtor in a bankruptcy case.
Continue Reading Are Debtors Eligible to Receive PPP Loans? Bankrupt Companies and the SBA Wage War Over Critical CARES Act Program Eligibility