Restaurants and hotels have landed more than $18 billion in loans under the current version of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), or 18% of all the dollars okayed to date, making the hospitality industry the leading borrower by a considerable margin.
Data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the administrator of the PPP, shows that the average loan across all industries is $78,000, with about 70% of the loans amounting to less than $50,000.
The snapshot of PPP activity shows that the number of second-draw loans—advances made to small businesses that have previously borrowed money under the 11-month-old program is about three times the tally of first-time loans.
Just under $101 billion has been lent to date under the re-upped program, which began in mid-January. About $284 billion has been allocated for the program, with Congress considering a boost of $7.3 under the COVID relief bill that’s currently being hammered out in the House o Representatives.
Since the program began at the start of the pandemic, about $623.4 billion has been lent to businesses.
Restaurants are the leading borrowers in terms of loans approved, according to the SBA. The next most common borrower was the construction industry, which has drawn 14% of all money lent as of Feb. 7.
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