The second round of the COVID-19 relief bill was recently signed into law, which also provides additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Home State Bank Vice President Tami Larimore says they have seen success with PPP. She notes Home State Bank has processed 177 loan applications, most were from Greene County, for a total of $10,629,550, and has helped keep 1,234 people employed. The PPP is designed as a financial loan for small businesses to help pay for payroll to keep employees for those businesses impacted by the pandemic. Larimore points out how critical this program has been for those that have received funding.

“So when you think about retaining that number of jobs and what that means to those workers, their families, the communities that they live in, and the small businesses that are in that community, that positive impact that that program has had on people’s lives during this struggling time has been very large. It’s been very humbling hearing the stories from our customers about how if they hadn’t had this program and hadn’t received those funds, some of those businesses would have closed permanently.”

Larimore says PPP can be set up as a forgivable loan as long as the business follows the guidelines. She explains that about 60-percent of the funds must be used for payroll and 40-percent must be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent or utilities. Documentation must also be included to show that those funds are being used correctly. 

Larimore anticipates the new guidelines for the additional PPP funding to be released in the next few weeks and then businesses can start to apply for that program again.