PPP loan balances continue to grow as program deadline nears

As the March 31 approval deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program gets closer, lending under the program remains active. The PPP saw 2.4 million loans approved for a total of $164.95 billion as of March 7, up from 2.2 million loans approved for a total of $156.25 billion as of Feb. 28, according to the latest data published by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Bipartisan companion bills introduced by the chairs of the House and Senate small business committees suggested that the program's deadline be extended to May 31. The bills would also allow the SBA to process applications until June 30. However, the bills are expected to face roadblocks from Congress.

Having already been altered under President Joe Biden's administration to allow small businesses better access to PPP funds, the program is being reviewed by the House Small Business Committee. Banking groups are urging lawmakers to tweak the PPP so that borrower applications stuck in SBA processing would remain valid even after the PPP deadline.

The list of the top 15 PPP lenders saw few changes in the latest SBA data. JPMorgan Chase & Co. unit JPMorgan Chase Bank NA remained the top program lender through March 7, with $6.62 billion in loans approved, up from $6.05 billion through the end of February. Bank of America Corp. unit Bank of America NA remained the second-biggest lender, with $5.75 billion in loans approved as of March 7, up from $5.34 billion as of Feb. 28. In third place, online lender Itria Ventures LLC had $5.19 billion in loans approved, compared to $4.76 billion in the week prior.

Wells Fargo & Co. unit Wells Fargo Bank NA moved up to take the No. 8 spot on the list with $2.04 billion in loans approved as of March 7, up from the previous rank of ninth with $1.89 billion in loans approved as of Feb. 28.

Finally, Truist Financial Corp. unit Truist Bank cracked the list for the week ended March 7, coming in at No. 15 with $1.39 billion in loans approved.