ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta submitted a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration requesting that equipment finance companies be eligible to participate in the new Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act.

The Paycheck Protection Program will provide approximately $350 billion in loans for certain purposes through the existing SBA 7(a) program. Under the traditional 7(a) program, financial services companies are not eligible for loans.

The ELFA letter makes a case for including small equipment finance companies in the new program: “We believe this is an important step so that these companies can maintain their workforce in order to facilitate the economic stabilization and recovery that is to come in the coming days and weeks,” wrote Petta.

The letter also notes that equipment finance companies “are a critical part of keeping the economy functioning today, and getting the economy functioning again once government-mandated business closures start to be lifted.”

See ELFA’s Federal Government’s COVID-19 Response page for all the latest resources.