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Date: 9/2/2020
EASTHAMPTON – Easthampton Savings Bank has been one of the local partners for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). President and CEO of BankESB Matthew Sosik said they have funded about 1,400 loans totaling roughly $135 million.
He said their goal is to work with their borrowers to get them the PPP loans they are requesting so businesses can continue to pay their employees and other certain expenses.
Sosik said the loan process is straight forward and quick if the borrower has all of the needed documentation. The process can be as short as a few days, but it can be prolonged if the bank and borrower have to converse back and forth for information.
Businesses who wish to apply for the loan can call the commercial department or their lender, and either of them will direct them on how to apply for the PPP loan. BankESB will then take care of the rest and work with the prospective borrower directly through completion of the process.
Once the borrower gets approved for the loan and is funded, it becomes a two-step process. The second step is loan forgiveness.
“Once the borrower has met the guidelines, they apply for forgiveness with their lender. The lender then processes the application and, if approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the lender then forgives all or part of the loan,” said Sosik.
The decision to continue the PPP loan comes down to what Congress decides to do. Sosik shared that they have seen a dramatic fall-off of new activity because most of the people applied several months ago, so there is no longer a high demand for the loan.