The pace of processing loans from a popular coronavirus relief program for U.S. small businesses has slowed abruptly, allaying initial concerns that a second round of funding would be exhausted in a matter of days.
The initial $349 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program ran out in 13 days, finishing at a clip of more than $30 billion per weekday. The additional $320 billion for the initiative, relaunched on April 27, reached $175.7 billion in approvals in five days, but the Small Business Administration has reported only $11 billion processed since then -- a daily pace of $2.3 billion.
