[co-author: Perry Laub]

Since the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020, Congress has enacted subsequent laws and the U.S. Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the U.S Treasury Department (“Treasury”) have issued a sizable number of rules and additional guidance to implement the CARES Act’s marquee small business loan component – the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”).

Under the CARES Act, as supplemented by companion legislation such as the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (the “PPPHCEA”)i , HR 7010 (Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the “PPPFA”)) and as extended under S.4116, the total amount available for emergency lending under this unprecedented program reached $659 billion. By the end of the initial PPP availability period in August 2020, approximately 5.2 million PPP loans had been issued by thousands of financial institutions to small businesses for an aggregate principal amount of approximately $522 billion.