More than 48,000 Kentucky businesses got PPP loans. Most of the money went to 6,000.
At least 48,370 Kentucky businesses received loans to weather the coronavirus pandemic under the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to data released by the U.S. Small Business Association, but 73 percent of the money went to just 13 percent of those businesses.
Through June 30, Kentucky businesses had received $5.2 billion in loans, but only about 27 percent of that money went to the 41,932 businesses that received loans of under $150,000.
Instead, 73 percent of the money went to 6,438 businesses that received more than $150,000, including 53 businesses across the state that collected loans between $5 million and $10 million. About 60 percent of the 599,372 Kentucky jobs protected by the program were at businesses that received loans of more than $150,000.
The SBA released the names of the businesses that received loans larger than $150,000, but did not release the exact size of their loans.
Among them are Wendy’s of Bowling Green, Ramaco Resources (which does not have any active mines in Kentucky), the National Tobacco Company, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington and the Diocese of Covington.
There were 429 non-profit businesses that received loans of more than $150,000, including nine that got more than $5 million. Several of the non-profits were religion-based, including Crosswater Canyon, which is a non-profit entity intended to support the Ark Encounter Museum in Northern Kentucky. It received a loan of between $1 million and $2 million. Other notable non-profits included the Speed Art Museum, Centre College, Georgetown College and Asbury University.
In Lexington, five businesses received loans larger than $5 million — Blue Diamond Mining, Ramaco Resources, Rhino Energy, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington and S&S Firestone. There were 22 businesses in Lexington that received loans between $2 million and $5 million, a list that included Ball Homes, Don Jacobs Imports, McBrayer, Kentucky Eagle, Transylvania University, Paul Miller Ford and Stoll Keenon Ogden.
At least $69 million went to Lexington businesses that received loans larger than $2 million. Statewide, a minimum of $775 million went to businesses that received loans greater than $2 million, which is about 14 percent of the total for all Kentucky businesses. Those businesses said the loans protected about 359,886 jobs, or 12 percent all jobs protected by the loan program.
The PPP loan program was intended to help keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic. It is a 1 percent interest loan that is forgiven by the federal government if 75 percent of the money is used for payroll and the business doesn’t fire or cut the salaries of employees. Congress originally set aside $349 billion for the program, an amount that was gobbled up so fast that many small businesses weren’t immediately able to get loans. Congress later approved another $310 billion.
Of the loans worth more than $2 million, around 85 percent were approved in the first round of lending. Of the loans that were less than $150,000, only 44 percent were approved in the first round, according to a Herald-Leader analysis of the data.
The SBA did not release the names of businesses who received loans for less than $150,000, making it impossible to know which small businesses were helped.
Most businesses reported how many jobs they preserved in receiving their loans, as well as whether they were minority or veteran owned. Only 14 businesses that received a loan of more than $150,000 reported being Black or African American owned. None of them were in Lexington. Of the businesses that received more than $5 million, only one specified their race — white.
Around 5 percent of the businesses that received more than $150,000 reported being owned by a woman. No woman-owned business received more than $5 million.
Of the businesses that received less than $150,000, only 90 reported having a Black or African American owner. Around 6 percent were owned by a woman and 254 reported being owned by a veteran.
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
