PPP Winds Down with CDFIs as Top Lenders
Dafina Williams
The application window for PPP loans closed on May 31 and the final numbers are in. Community Financial Institutions (CFIs) — a category of lender that includes CDFIs, Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Small Business Administration (SBA) microlenders and Certified Development Corporations — made more than $34 billion in PPP loans, far exceeding the $15 billion set aside by Congress in the December 2020 COVID relief bill.
Three OFN members — Capital Plus Financial, Prestamos CDFI, and Lendistry — ranked in the top ten of all 2021 PPP lenders by volume. This strong program performance demonstrates that CDFIs have both the capacity and expertise to deliver capital quickly to small businesses that need it most.
In fact, CFIs outperformed other PPP lenders in multiple ways, reaching financially underserved businesses with a higher proportion of their loans compared to every other type of PPP lender. The SBA reported that 77.9 percent of CFI loans were under $150,000 (49.8 percent program average) and 39.7 percent of CFI loans were in low- and moderate-income areas (28 percent program average).
With PPP officially closed for new applications, OFN is focused on improving the forgiveness process for business owners and lenders.