SBA Issues Loan Necessity Questionnaire

Nov 03, 2020

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued new loan necessity questionnaires which all businesses with PPP loans greater than $2 million will be required to complete. These questionnaires are intended to help the SBA determine whether the Borrower’s certification of economic uncertainty made the loan request necessary to support ongoing operations was appropriate. SBA has developed two distinct versions of the loan necessity questionnaire: one for for-profit borrowers, and one for non-profit borrowers.

To refresh, during the initial PPP Loan application, borrowers had to certify that “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” However, at no point did the SBA provide any material guidance as to what this certification meant, leaving many borrowers anxious. The limited guidance during the loan application phase only stated borrowers must take into account their current business activity and their ability to access other sources of liquidity.

Please note, at this time these forms are not available on the SBA or Treasury website. It is anticipated these questionnaires will come directly from the lender and/or servicer. Lenders who have submitted loan forgiveness on behalf of impacted borrowers will receive a request from the SBA for completion of the form. While the instructions indicate the receipt of the questionnaire does not necessarily mean the SBA is challenging the good-faith certification, impacted borrowers are required to submit the completed forms within 10 business days of receipt from the lender.

Given the short turn-around time, we recommend that all borrowers with aggregated PPP loans of $2 million or more familiarize themselves with these forms now, and begin to gather related documentation

We encourage impacted PPP borrowers to reach out to their WVC advisor for assistance with the completion of the form, as detailed financial information is required.

Categories: COVID-19