Abrigo Ready to Support Community Financial Institutions in New Round of PPP L****

Abrigo has begun supporting community financial institutions participating in the latest round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through its Sageworks SBA Lending solution.  Abrigo, the leading technology provider of compliance, credit risk, and lending solutions for community financial institutions, supported more than 360 financial institutions totaling nearly $12 billion in l**** funded in the first and second rounds of the PPP.

Starting today, first-time PPP borrowers can submit applications to community-based lenders, such as community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority deposit institutions (MDIs). On Wednesday, these lenders can begin accepting applications from borrowers seeking a second-draw PPP loan. The SBA has not yet announced when other financial institutions will be able to begin taking applications. Like the first round, first-time borrowers are eligible for l**** up to $10 million. Second-time borrowers, on the other hand, are eligible for l**** up to $2 million. Due to the smaller loan sizes and the targeted funds set aside for community-based lenders, the SBA is expecting the $284 billion program to last longer than previous rounds. Borrowers have until March 31 or until funds are depleted to apply for a PPP loan.

“We’re ready,” said William S. Keller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Bank of the Bay, a Community Development Financial Institution serving the San Francisco Bay area from its base in Oakland, Calif. “The application came out Friday and we worked on it all through the weekend along with our partners at Abrigo, and we’re ready to go. We’ve been focused on this for a while.”

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To ensure community financial institutions are ready to begin accepting PPP l**** when the program relaunches, Abrigo has quickly updated its platform to meet the needs of the latest guidance and new borrower and lender forms.

Customers leveraging the Sageworks SBA Lending solution can simplify and automate the underwriting processes to manage the volume of requests so they can quickly get money into the hands of small business owners. Abrigo’s implementation team enables financial institutions to fully implement the software and begin automating PPP l**** within 48 hours.

Community Bank of the Bay utilized Abrigo’s Sageworks SBA Lending Solution during the earlier rounds of PPP funding to help businesses in local communities secure about 390 l**** totaling $81 million in funding. “It made it extremely easy for clients of ours, because all of their information was already in the appropriate system,” Keller said. “Being able to help those clients secure PPP funding,” he added, “made the difference between survival and going under, unfortunately, for many businesses.”

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While many aspects of the program are the same, the PPP has changed in several key areas, with second-draw l**** being a top focus for many small business borrowers impacted by the pandemic. Abrigo has adapted its SBA Lending solution to automate and streamline second-draw loan applications, including prepopulating information borrowers had already entered for their first loan. Other advantages of Abrigo’s platform for second-draw l**** include:

• Up-to-date forms
• Prepopulated questions and fields from the first loan, including contact information
• Loan number, amount, entity structure, and beneficial ownership information
• Removal of EIDL references

“Community financial institutions were the backbone of the Paycheck Protection Program in the first rounds, and we’re proud to continue partnering with these institutions in the next round,” said Abrigo President Jay Blandford. “Our teams have worked around the clock to ensure CFIs will be able to provide this much-needed funding to small businesses quickly and easily. We have the solution and the resources to help CDFIs and other institutions get up and running quickly and confidently – even if they might be participating in PPP for the first time.”

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