One of the key parts of the Federal CARES Act, passed by Congress in response to the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, was the program to prevent layoffs, called the Payroll Protection Program or PPP.
Loans were granted to businesses who applied through their banks. Locally, one of the institutions used by many in town is Watertown Savings Bank, which announced it handed out more than $20 million in PPP loans.
The program allows for forgivable loans of up to $10 million, but the average amount of the PPP loans approved by Watertown Savings was close to $35,000. The loans will not have to be paid back if the business does not cut any staff during the 8-week loan period.
Loan proceeds can be used to cover payroll costs, and most mortgage interest, rent, and utility costs. The initial $350 billion for PPP loans has run out, but Congress recently passed a second stimulus bill, which added $300 billion for PPPs.
Watertown Savings President & CEO Brett Dean sent out the following statement:
Watertown Savings Bank is pleased to announce that our lending department has worked day and night to secure Small Business Association (SBA) approval for 100 percent of PPP loan applications it has received as of April 27 from its small business customers.
WSB’s median PPP loan size was $34,612. These loans were provided to the small businesses in our local community to help support and maintain staff levels. In all, over $20 million was added to our local economy as a result of these loans.
(See more information about the PPP loan program from the Small Business Administration (SBA) by clicking here.)