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Officials: SBA loan process ‘overwhelmed’

ELKINS — Officials at some local banks are now accepting applications for the federal Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loans, though technological overloads have complicated the input process.

Hugh Hitchcock, president and CEO of Davis Trust Company, said the bank has received several applications for the program and is eager to serve customers, though officials are frustrated with the SBA’s overwhelmed input system.

“We are an SBA lender, and we have been for several years, but quite frankly, when the politicians passed the act, they did not have the SBA quite in the loop, and their system is overwhelmed. So, it’s very frustrating,” Hitchcock told The Inter-Mountain Tuesday.

“We are in the queue to assist our customers; we have applications, and we are ready to go to get the information in. We’ve had multiple calls and emails with SBA officials at the highest levels in the state, and we are assured that things are going to open up.”

Hitchcock stated that while some local banks have been able to enter the system, the situation is hit or miss.

“They might get an application in, and then they may be locked out,” he said.

Hitchcock said Davis Trust is absolutely ready to enter customer applications, though the SBA’s portals remain overwhelmed.

“It’s not an issue with the banks; it’s an issue with the SBA,” he said, assuring the public that Davis Trust Company officials want to get their customers the assistance they need as quickly as possible.

“When the access issue gets solved, all of the banks will be able to input the applications. The SBA supposedly has an expedited approval process, and once we have the green light, it will not take us long to fund the loans. It is just getting the applications in and getting the green light back from the SBA.”

“We’re hopeful; what we were told this morning was that hopefully by the end of the day the SBA would have their issues straightened out. That’s what we’re hopeful for so that we can begin getting our customers served,” Hitchcok said.

Mountain Valley Bank President Richard Harvey said MVB had accepted 53 PPP applications as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Right now, we are prioritizing with our established customers to get them taken care of. We may consider other applicants as well, but right now our primary focus is to take care of the folks that currently bank with us,” Harvey said in a phone interview with the Inter-Mountain.

Harvey stated that like the majority of banks in America, MVB has had problems with the SBA input system; however, the bank has been successful in entering the applications.

“The SBA has been overwhelmed with this. They are trying to do the right thing by small businesses, but their systems and their capacity right now are just really overwhelmed,” he said.

“We remain open; we remain here to serve our customers and the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our community. We’re all working hard together throughout this pandemic.”

A provision of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress in March, the Paycheck Protection Program authorizes up to $349 billion to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of forgivable loans.

While applications for small businesses and sole proprietorships became submittable beginning on April 3, independent contractors and self-employed individuals may apply for the PPP starting Friday.

To download the application for the PPP, visit https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/PPP%20Borrower%20Application%20Form.pdf in your internet browser.

Citizens Bank of West Virginia in Elkins and Huntington Bank in Elkins were both contacted for inclusion in this article but were unable to provide information by press time.

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