President Trump’s message to America’s big banks

President Trump called on CEOs from America’s largest financial institutions to join him for a conference call yesterday. His message: Keep doing everything you can to support our nation’s small businesses during this pandemic.

“We’re grateful for the many ways in which your companies have answered the call to join our national endeavor,” he said. “Thank you for donating tens of millions of dollars.”

Millions of Americans are doing their part by staying home to slow the spread of Coronavirus. They deserve all the support they can get. On Friday, President Trump’s Small Business Administration launched the Paycheck Protection Program, which authorizes $350 billion in forgivable loans for companies that keep workers on payroll.

Ivanka Trump: “We’ll keep fighting for you.”

As of yesterday, the SBA has processed more than $70 billion in guaranteed loans for these qualifying small businesses. More loans are being approved every hour.

Small business owners have already told the SBA what this financial relief means for their companies and their workers:

“This is a game-changer for us. Our employees will be so excited to hear they will still be getting paychecks,” a coffee shop owner in North Carolina says.
“Because of this help, we can get through with a minimal amount of pain and suffering for something that wasn’t [our employees’] fault,” the owner of an A/C and heating installation service in Nebraska said.
“This SBA loan came at the perfect time, because I wouldn’t have been able to make payroll or mortgage,” said an auto repair center owner in Oklahoma.
“Now we can give back to the community in a meaningful way. Our espresso kiosks are giving away thousands of dollars in free coffee to frontline workers–first responders, health care workers, and law enforcement,” the owner of a drive-thru espresso business in Montana said.

America’s 30 million small businesses together employ more than 60 million people. Their survival is essential to our economy. Given the overwhelming success of the Paycheck Protection Program so far, President Trump is asking Congress for additional support to help these businesses and their workers.

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