The number of Paycheck Protection Program loans to U.S. small businesses more than doubled in the third week of the latest round of pandemic relief aid, as Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. each processed more than $1 billion in funding.
The Small Business Administration approved 891,044 loans worth $72.7 billion through Jan. 31, up from the 400,580 loans totaling $35 billion a week prior, according to data released Tuesday. The pace picked up after a slow start following the program’s opening in Jan. 11 with another $284 billion from Congress as part of a stimulus package for the economy.
