McKINNEY – Since the onset of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Independent Financial has made more than $1.1 billion in loans through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the bank said in a news release.
Independent Financial has processed 9,189 PPP loans to date.
The PPP is part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) signed into law in early 2020, with additional authorization included in the Economic Aid Act signed later last year.
Administered by the SBA, the program was established to provide low-interest private loans to assist businesses, self-employed workers, proprietors, non-profits, and other organizations continue paying their workers with the opportunity for full loan forgiveness.
Independent Financial, an $18.1 billion asset financial services company and ranked sixth by Forbes among the country’s 100 largest publicly traded banks, reports (to date) a 100 percent approval rate among PPP loan applicants.
David R. Brooks, Independent Financial Chairman and CEO, said the bank participated in the PPP in both 2020 and 2021 in its Texas and Colorado markets in what he called a unprecedented year in terms of lending institutions navigating the new federal programs to counter the economic effects of the pandemic.
“The PPP program helps businesses remain viable and operational,” Brooks said. “This has been a challenging period of our nation’s history and this new program helped so many businesses stay afloat by being able to continue paying their employees.”
Congress approved more than $660 billion for PPP loans as part of the CARES Act, plus an additional $284 billion as part of the Economic Aid Act.
Independent Financial operates in four markets – Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and the Colorado Front Range region with 93 locations across Texas and Colorado.
Independent Bank, doing business as Independent Financial, is a subsidiary of Independent Bank Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IBTX).