SBA and LED Financial Assistance for Small Businesses
LOUISIANA REALTORS • April 5, 2020
As the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit more Americans, federal and state governments have made programs available to assist small businesses with their payroll and business expenses. Louisiana REALTORS® has consolidated information about these programs for you to access in one convenient place.
Federal and State Resources Available for REALTORS® During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Federal and state governments have made programs available to assist small businesses with payroll and business expenses as the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues. If used for the intended purposes, this financial assistance may not be required to be repaid.
As always, we urge you to speak to your financial advisor, CPA, community bank, and/or attorney to determine what assistance is best for you. Also, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) offices throughout the state are available to provide remote assistance when applying for various programs. Further information is available here: https://www.lsbdc.org/
We also encourage you to speak to your current lenders about additional assistance available, including bridge loans and loan deferment or forbearance. If deferment or forbearance is available, be sure to ask how much will be due and when, credit reporting and interest and penalties.
Please note that unemployment assistance is different from the assistance available through these programs. See Unemployment Benefits for Self Employed and Independent Contractors.
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMS
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) created two new programs/grants to be administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA). The two programs are the following:
- SBA 7(a) “Paycheck Protection Program” (PPP)
- SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) grant
The Act required the SBA and the Department of the Treasury to issue regulations and guidance necessary to administer the programs within a matter of days. This has led to a flurry of information being published about these two programs.
Louisiana REALTORS® believes the following to be trusted sources for information about the PPP and EIDL programs:
LOUISIANA LOAN PORTFOLIO GUARANTY PROGRAM
The Louisiana Loan Portfolio Guaranty Program offers loans of up to $100,000 to Louisiana small businesses of fewer than 100 employees that are impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The loans will require no payments for 180 days and carry below-market interest rates of no more than 3.5 percent.
The Loan Portfolio Guaranty Program is a partnership of Louisiana Economic Development, which will provide a loan guaranty fund; the Louisiana Bankers Association, whose membership will provide the loans; and the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority, which will administer the program. A total loan pool of $50 million will be disbursed to eligible small businesses across Louisiana.
More information about this program is available here: https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/covid19/led-loan-guaranty-program?v=2
Louisiana REALTORS® CEO Norman Morris issued the following statement after SpaceX announced plans to invest $100 billion in a new launch facility in Vermilion Parish. The project is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs and more than 8,100 indirect jobs across Acadiana. “SpaceX’s investment is an extraordinary economic win for Louisiana. We congratulate Governor Jeff Landry, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois, Vermilion Parish leaders, and everyone who helped bring this historic project home. The housing and infrastructure improvements needed to support more than 11,000 new job opportunities should generate a huge economic boost to the Acadiana and Gulf Coast region. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, each typical Louisiana home sale generates approximately $88,600 in economic activity. Even if only half of the new SpaceX related jobs lead to a home purchase, the impact would generate nearly half a billion dollars across our state's economy. That improves our tax base and school systems, and ripples through our economy touching builders, bankers, hardware stores, appliance dealers, contractors and so many more. “Housing is not downstream of economic development; it is an essential infrastructure. Louisiana REALTORS® and our partners stand ready to help turn these new jobs into homes, stronger communities and lasting roots in Louisiana. Economic development creates jobs, but housing turns those jobs into homes. Let’s make Louisiana home again, together.” Economic-impact estimates are illustrative calculations by Louisiana REALTORS® using employment projections from Louisiana Economic Development and the National Association of REALTORS®’ estimated economic impact per typical Louisiana home sale. They are not forecasts or recurring annual-impact figures. Enjoy the video below from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development .
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