On March 17, Gov. John Bel Edwards officially requested the Small Business Administration to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans to all Louisiana parishes. Effective immediately, Louisiana businesses may now apply for these loans.
The application may be submitted online through the SBA’s website: Click here for more information.
Details about the loan program are as follows:
Loans may be made in an amount of up to $2,000,000 per borrower.
Loans carry an interest rate of 3.75% (2.75% for non-profit organizations).
Loans are payable over a term of up to 30 years.
Proceeds of the loans may be used to pay existing fixed debt, employee payroll, accounts payable and other expenses of operation.
Loans typically take 14-20 days to fund but the SBA is working to shorten that time frame.
Collateral is required for all loans over $25,000, which may include real estate. SBA has said it will not decline a loan for lack of collateral but will require the borrower to pledge collateral that is available.
Loans cannot be used to refinance long term debt.
Qualification for relief is available only to small businesses which SBA determines are unable to obtain credit elsewhere. Determining what is a small business is dependent on various revenue and employee considerations and the industry.