Some businesses won't return funds despite pressure from Trump administration
Source: Washington Post
Some businesses won’t return funds despite pressure from Trump administration
Resistance comes days after SBA said publicly traded companies weren’t intended targets of Paycheck Protection Program
By Jeanne Whalen, Aaron Gregg and Michelle Ye Hee Lee
April 28, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
A handful of publicly traded companies say they aren’t planning to return loans received from a small-business rescue program, despite pressure from the Trump administration to repay the funds.
Companies in the hotel, cruise ship and medical-device sectors said they are qualified to receive the money under the Paycheck Protection Program and need the funds to stay in business.
Their resistance comes days after the Small Business Administration suggested dozens of publicly held companies should give back money received from the Paycheck Protection Program by May 7.
The agency said public companies with “substantial market value” and the ability to raise money through capital markets were not the intended recipients of the funds, which were meant to help small businesses keep employees on the payroll during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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Ashford Hospitality Trust, Braemar Hotels & Resorts and Ashford were among the biggest recipients of the loans, receiving them through multiple applications, according to federal filings. The companies said they applied for $126 million total.
In a statement, the companies said they have closed 32 of their 130 hotels and laid off or furloughed more than 90 percent of their workforce in recent weeks as the travel business has evaporated. “Our singular focus is to get back to the business of hosting guests at our hotels and helping the nearly 14,000 employees who work at our 130 hotels and related businesses return to work as the economy emerges from this terrible crisis,” the companies said.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/28/small-business-wont-repay-ppp/
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Maybe it’s time we check out those diplomas they have hanging on their walls!