Last week, Matt Swihart sounded optimistic.
The coronavirus pandemic had forced him in Hood River and Portland. But the brewmaster had a plan. First thing Friday morning 鈥� as soon a new small-business lending program opened 鈥� he would apply for a government-backed stimulus loan and rehire as many people as possible.
By Monday morning, he was alarmed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so frustrating,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 sleep. It鈥檚 awful.鈥�
So far, his application had gone nowhere.
The launch of the set off a race among business owners desperate to apply for forgivable loans that would allow them to temporarily retain or rehire workers. But many banks weren鈥檛 ready for the crush of applications, hampered in part by the administration鈥檚 11th hour release of its final rules.
Swihart said his bank informed him on Saturday that it was only taking loan applications from single-owner entities. Swihart is Double Mountain鈥檚 primary owner, but the brewery was started by a group of family, friends and other investors. He鈥檇 have to wait up to a week for a different application.
That was a startling notion. Swihart knew that many of the 30 million small businesses around the country were also vying for help. He started contacting other lenders.
鈥淚鈥檓 reading things in the news that suggest that the funds will be evaporating quickly and may not be available,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, I鈥檓 panicking a bit that we might get shut out of the system.鈥�
Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the Portland area, by Sunday night.
US Bank, Swihart鈥檚 primary lender, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
The Paycheck Protection Program was designed as a lifeline for small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. It allows them to apply for low-interest, unsecured loans of up to $10 million through their regular banks or The loans are guaranteed by the federal government and should be forgiven if business owners meet certain conditions, including using 75% of the money to retain or rehire workers.
The emergency program had a rocky launch.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really confusing,鈥� said Stephen Green, director of operations for the footwear design academy Pensole. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely an exercise in 鈥榖uild the plane, fly the plane without any wings.鈥欌�� He spoke from his vantage point as a former commercial banker and a vocal advocate for small businesses.
Green said he understands the rushed rollout.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an urgency, I believe, to help businesses,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut when you鈥檙e doing a business such as this where banks are lending their own money and hoping to get a guarantee on that money, it鈥檚 ripe for confusion, mistakes and errors.鈥�
He noted that banks are treating the program differently, namely by adopting different requirements about which clients they can serve.
鈥淭he experience has definitely been different with each bank so far,鈥� said Matt Jacobson. He鈥檚 applying for loans from four separate banks to support his four businesses, which include Portland鈥檚 Bar Dune, Wayfinder Beer and the Sizzle Pie pizza restaurants.
鈥淚 was definitely very frustrated on Friday when I learned that there were some banks, like Bank of America, that were taking applications actively when we weren鈥檛 even given access to a portal or any of the proper paperwork to start the process,鈥� he said.
Jacobson said he submitted one online and two paper applications over the weekend. On Monday he was still waiting for the fourth bank to open its process.
Timing remained a point of confusion for Jacobson, who has laid off at least 170 people.
鈥淢y goal is to hire back everyone we can, as soon as we can,鈥� he said.
If he鈥檚 approved for loans, however, he may have to pay staff to stay home. That鈥檚 because there鈥檚 no telling when Oregon鈥檚 bars and restaurants will reopen to the general public.
鈥淚f it comes to it, that鈥檚 what we鈥檒l do,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut then we鈥檙e hoping there鈥檚 still money to keep them on when we actually need them.鈥�
Some business owners, including Dara Westling and her husband, did successfully submit loan applications Friday morning. The couple owns two Bishops Cuts/Color franchises in Vancouver. They applied online through Bank of America, where they have a credit card.
As for approval:
鈥淲e have no idea,鈥� Westling said. 鈥淲e got a confirmation that our application went through. There was a very clear message to not call any of the branches, because nobody was going to be able to help us.鈥�
She said it would be 鈥渁mazing鈥� if her small business could use a Paycheck Protection Loan to rehire its 15 employees. But even though she submitted her application early, she was unsure where she stood among other businesses in the queue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really stressful because 鈥榰p to 500 employees鈥� 鈥� those are bigger businesses than us,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd if banks are incentivized to process larger loans over smaller loans, we鈥檒l be in the back of the line.鈥�
Nationwide, the coronavirus pandemic decimated more than 10 million jobs in March. Many in the Northwest business community feel the government鈥檚 small business loan program 鈥� even at $349 billion 鈥� doesn鈥檛 go far enough.
鈥淚t鈥檚 never gonna be enough,鈥� said Stephen Green. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there is enough when you start looking at the monumental nature of what鈥檚 going on right now. We鈥檙e going through unprecedented times.鈥�
Matt Swihart of Double Mountain Brewery checked in Monday evening. Still no word from his bank on when he could apply for help.
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