The latest round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opened one month ago and already it has succeeded in making major improvements to the program’s implementation:

• For businesses with fewer than ten employees, the share of funding is up nearly 60%
• For businesses in rural communities, the share of funding is up nearly 30%
• The share of funding distributed through Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions is up more than 40%

Here are the other highlights –  The SBA will:

• Establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees
• Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants
• Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal
• Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make federal student loan payments by eliminating federal student loan debt delinquency and default as disqualifiers to participating in the PPP; and
• Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.