Borrowers will be charged just 0.5 percent interest in the new federally funded loan program to help keep small businesses afloat, and the loans will be forgiven as long as they keep their employees on their payrolls for two months, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, lenders would make available as much as $350 billion in government-guaranteed loans to cover eight weeks of payroll and other expenses. Business owners can begin applying on Friday, followed by independent contractors and people who self-employed on April 10. The government says it will forgive the loans if they keep their workforce largely intact and use the loans for eligible expenses such as rent and utilities. The Trump administration is anticipating that the nation’s vast network of federally insured banks, credit union and farm credit system institutions will handle the loans, senior administration officials said Tuesday. Most of the applications are likely to be filed online, they said, and the money could be dispensed in as little as one day.
