SBA Tag Archives — RIA Compliance Blog

Through updates to the Frequently Asked Questions maintained on its website, the Small Business Administration announced that it has extended the safe harbor date previously announced in Question 31 from May 7, 2020 to May 14, 2020, and that it intends to issue updated guidance relating to the safe harbor before May 14.

By way of background, on April 23, 2020 the SBA issued guidance relating to the certification that must be made by any applicant for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Specifically, the SBA advised all applicants to consider the truthfulness of the certification in the application regarding the need for the loan to support business operations. The answer to question 31 clarified that all borrowers must carefully consider whether, in light of their current business and access to capital, the loan is necessary, provided the capital is available in a way that would not substantially impair the business. The SBA granted a “safe harbor” by which anyone who had received funds through a PPP loan will be deemed to have made the loan certification in good faith if they return the funds on or before May 7, 2020. A few days later the SBA made it clear that the answer to Question 31 applied to private as well as public companies, through the addition of Question and Answer 37.

The entire process has been sloppy and uncertain. Even the original certification required is vague. What exactly does it mean that a loan is necessary “to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” This question could have been avoided through the development of more thorough, objectively measurable eligibility standards, rather than through such a scatter gun approach.

Due to recent guidance from the Small Business Association (SBA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), registered investment advisers (RIAs) should carefully consider their eligibility for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, and whether they must disclose the circumstances that led to the loan, or the fact of receiving the loan itself, on form ADV.

The PPP Loan Certification
In order to qualify for a PPP loan, an applicant must certify that “[c]urrent economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” Our view of this language was that it was very broad, so as to apply to any business that reasonably anticipated a reduction in revenue that could result in curtailment of its current operations. If an RIA believed in good faith that its revenue will decrease or has decreased as a result of the pandemic, and also anticipated that it will have to terminate any employees without the loan, then it is eligible for the loan. Since the primary purpose of the loan program was to minimize unemployment, in our view such an RIA should have easily been able to make the certification in good faith. However, later SBA guidance effectively altered the standard, and any RIA who applied for a loan should reevaluate the certification under the new standard.

April 23, 2020 — SBA Guidance
There was political backlash in mid-April when it was revealed that certain large companies, including publicly-traded companies that had access to capital markets, were receiving PPP loans. This led the Small Business Administration to issue formal Q&A guidance last Thursday, April 23, 2020. As a result of the guidance, the SBA stated that, before submitting a PPP application, all borrowers should review carefully the required certification that “[c]urrent economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” Borrowers must make this certification in good faith, taking into account their current business activity and their ability to access other sources of liquidity sufficient to support their ongoing operations in a manner that is not significantly detrimental to the business. While it is tempting to read the SBA guidance as applicable only to large businesses with access to capital, the Q&A made it clear that the “significantly detrimental” standard applies to “all borrowers.”Furthermore, while the guidance could be interpreted to apply only to public companies, the SBA clarified that it applied to private companies by updated guidance issued on April 28, 2020.

Articles Tagged with SBA

SBA Extends Safe Harbor for Return of PPP Loans and Signals Further Guidance

SBA and SEC Add Guidance on Paycheck Protection Program Loans