Banks handling a rush of emergency coronavirus loans

Local businesses and nonprofits are taking advantage of a federal loan program designed to keep them running during the coronavirus pandemic.

Glacier Bank has received applications for about 900 small business loans in the past week through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

“We are amazed at the number of applicants,” Bob Nystuen, Glacier Bank market president said Friday.

The applications include the 16 branches the bank has in Flathead, Lincoln and Lake counties as well as Butte and Anaconda.

The first approved loans were going out to businesses and nonprofits late last week, he said.

Nystuen said the volume of applications amounted to 15 times the normal rate of commercial loan applications.

At Freedom Bank in Columbia Falls, the volume has been extremely high as well. President Don Bennett said the bank to date has completed about $7.7 million in loans to 58 local businesses, with 39 more in the pipeline. About 49 folks also took advantage of the bank’s zero percent $1,000 loans.

Bennett said the bank’s three loan officers — himself included, have been working sometimes until 10:30 at night to process the SBA loan applications.

The virus has shut down Western Montana’s economy in many sectors, as Gov. Steve Bullock has issued a stay-at-home order and closed most non-essential businesses to stop the spread of the virus at least to April 24 and likely longer than that.

The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.

SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. The loans, however, are processed by local banks and lending institutions.

Nystuen said Glacier Bank was focusing on existing loan customers first, then depositers and non-profits, and thirdly businesses that are not customers.

He noted that not all financial institutions are offering the loans.

“But we felt it was very important to do that here in the valley,” he said.

Statewide, Montana Sen. Steve Daines office reported that 10,372 loans had been approved to date, with a total value of about $1.3 billion.

A recent survey of 102 businesses across western Montana by LC Staffing found that 68% of those surveyed saw a decrease in revenue; 46% had laid off staff. Additionally, 69% had slowed or stopped hiring. About one-third say it will take four to eight months to recover, though 20% say it will take eight months to a year and 18% say it will take longer than a year.

Not all businesses are negatively impacted. Seventeen percent said they actually have seen an increase in revenue.

But many businesses that were surveyed said the longer the shutdown goes on, the worse things will get. Businesses and nonprofits noted that the summer season, with its events, tourism and outdoor recreation, are the bulk of their income.

The pain will eventually bleed into other sectors, like construction, they warn, because people don’t have money to spend.

The stock market plummeted so badly during the pandemic that people lost thousands and sometimes millions. One business reported losing $15 million.

Nonprofits that have income from arts and other programs are seeing cancellations and loss of revenue. Another nonprofit that ran a bar said the funds from the bar were used to support local charities and other projects. With bars closed, that revenue has evaporated.

From an employee standpoint, many are working from home, if they haven’t been furloughed. Others are working on projects that have been on the proverbial “backburner,” they said.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has skyrocketed. It was at a low of 3.5 percent, but last week alone more than 35,000 unemployment insurance claims were paid in Montana April 6 through the 10, an increase of 44 percent over the previous week.