The SBA 7(a) Payroll Protection Loan Program that includes the potential of forgiveness will be available on these dates:

• Small Businesses and Sole Proprietorships can apply for loans starting Friday, April 3rd
• Independent Contractors and Self-Employed Individuals can apply for loans starting Friday, April 10th
• The program ends when the funding has been used or on June 30th

The SBA 7(a) Payroll Protection Program Loan is a loan made through your local bank that can be forgiven if used for the allowable expenses over the 8 week period after the loan is approved. At least 75% of the money received in the loan must be used for payroll to be forgiven. You also must keep employees on the payroll or rehire employees if you have laid them off. The amount you can borrow is equal to 2.5 times your average monthly payroll over your last year of business. If you have been in business less than a year then you do the average monthly payroll from the time you opened times 2.5 to get your loan amount. To get the loan you would fill out the application and gather proof of payroll, any other records required by your bank and get the information to your local loan officer at your bank. If you do not have a loan officer currently, we would encourage you to call the local bank with which you do business. If you do not currently conduct business with a local bank currently then here are the numbers for you to contact.

First Community Bank: Billy Keedy – 1-870-201-6202

IberiaBank: Jamie Chapman – 1-870-523-3611

Merchants and Planters Bank: Jim Gowen, Jr. – 1-870-523-3601 x1112

Regions Bank: Cindy Jones – 1-870-201-2440

Beware of Scammers – Neither the bank nor any application preparer is allowed to charge you a fee. They will receive their fees from the federal government. Anyone seeking to charge you a fee for this loan program is a scammer. That is why it is important to use a local bank you can trust.

The Fact Sheets have a lot of information about the loans. Please review the sheets, the application, gather payroll information and then contact your contact your bank. If you have questions you are welcome to call us at our office phone 870-523-1009 during business hours or call me on my cell phone, 870-503-0793, after hours or over the weekend.

PPP — Overview

PPP Lender Information Fact Sheet

PPP Borrower Information Fact Sheet

PPP Borrower Application Form