Update on Main Street Lending Program

This article was updated on April 14, 2020.  Updates to this article will be made as new information becomes available.

Schneider Downs continues to track the evolving landscape of Federal financial programs offered due to the disruption of the coronavirus (COVID-19).  On April 9, 2020, the Federal Reserve announced that it would provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy.  This funding will assist households, businesses and state and local governments struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The part of the package that impacts Schneider Downs and its clients is the Main Street Lending Program (Main Street), which provides up to $600 billion in loans to small and mid-sized businesses.

Main Street is meant to cover mid-sized businesses, not covered by the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  The Main Street program is for U.S. businesses with up to 10,000 employees or up to $2.5 billion in 2019 annual revenues that were in good financial standing before COVID-19.

The Federal Reserve has not released a timeline, but interested parties may comment on these new programs through April 16, 2020.  Additional details on the Main Street application process should then be available after that date.  A Federal Reserve official has indicated that it would take two to three weeks to get the Main Street program up and running through the banks, which may indicate a potential starting date for Main Street applications of May 1, 2020.

If you have any questions regarding the Main Street program, first reach out to your bank and other lenders about whether you can apply for Main Street funding through these institutions.  If you need more information, please reach out to any of your contacts at Schneider Downs or contact Joel Rosenthal ([email protected]).

Please visit our Coronavirus resource page at schneiderdowns.com/our-thoughts-on/category/Coronavirus for related content.