: As the No. 2 lender, it opted out because its own simplified portal had already been operational for months; the bank stated that developing a new interface for the SBA portal was unnecessary at that stage.
: By late 2021, lenders representing only about half of all outstanding PPP loan forgiveness applications had opted into the SBA portal. Current Status : As the No
: The SBA initially suggested that lenders not participating in direct forgiveness could face audits from the Office of Credit Risk Management to ensure they were actively helping borrowers. Current Status : The SBA initially suggested that
: The top PPP lender by volume encouraged customers to use its own platform, citing that over 80% of its 2020 loan recipients had already achieved forgiveness through their internal system. : Having already spent significant resources building custom
: Critics argued that opting out left small business owners with no other option if their bank dragged out the process or refused to forgive the loan.
: Having already spent significant resources building custom portals, large banks found it more efficient to maintain their current workflows.
The decision to opt out had significant repercussions for small business owners and the SBA: