SBA's PPP loan forgiveness application leaves unanswered questions - Washington Business Journal

Leonard Johnson, shareholder in the firm's Finance and Real Estate groups, is quoted in the Washington Business Journal article, "SBA's PPP loan forgiveness application leaves unanswered questions."

But loan forgiveness — as opposed to criminal penalties — could still hinge on whether the business applied early in the process or after the SBA added a requirement that businesses seek other sources of liquidity before applying for the loan, according to Leonard Johnson, a shareholder at law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC.

"I still think that the issue is open as to whether we essentially have two standards by which you were judged, relative to the liquidity question in particular," Johnson said.

Another point that needs more clarity, he added: The loan-forgiveness application states that businesses will be evaluated "in accordance with the PPP regulations and guidance issued by SBA through the date of this application," potentially referring to the submission of the loan forgiveness application. That may be a slight change from earlier SBA guidance that said businesses are governed by the guidelines and information issued at the time they submitted the PPP loan application, a different document.