Pub. 16 2021-22 Issue 1

NEBRASKA BANKERS ASSOCIATION 11 Email Rob Nichols at rnichols@aba.com . our smallest, the commitment to our small business customers has been truly remarkable. We have been united in this effort. Banks were able to step up because ABA, working with our state association partners, was able to keep members informed on the program and its many iterations. In daily Zoom calls in the early months of the pandemic, state association executives served as an early warning system, keeping us updated on operational issues popping up, which we relayed back to SBA. Meanwhile, ABA provided members and state associations the latest SBA changes in real time. At one point, ABA hosted a PPP webinar for bankers, only to find that SBA employees in some parts of the country were trying to register. We came to learn that they were getting better information about PPP from ABA and the state associations than they were from SBA headquarters. ABA and the state associations also partnered on targeted ad campaigns to encourage minority- and women-owned businesses to consider applying for PPP loans. This partnership was just one of many industry initiatives to ensure PPP funds reached every business that needed them. PPP will always have its critics. Some people remain fixated on the large businesses and public companies that applied in the first wave, only to be shamed into returning PPP funds. To be fair, many of those businesses met the initial eligibility requirements set by Congress. Government watchdogs remain rightfully concerned with inexcusable examples of fraud and abuse, many spotted by banks working with law enforcement. Others have suggested that banks earned a windfall from PPP. The reality is that for most banks, the cost of diverting staff from other lines of business to reset systems and oversee this massive new program made PPP lending a break-even business at best. And yet, all of those bankers also tell me they would participate again under similar circumstances because supporting PPP was the right thing to do for their customers, communities and the country. I am hopeful we won’t need another small business rescue program anytime soon. If we do need another PPP, please rest assured that we have learned some valuable lessons, and ABA and our state association alliance partners will once again be with you every step of the way. 