Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1313608
Worcester Business Journal 21 PPP loan receipients, by race In the Paycheck Protection program, only 11% of Central Massachusetts recipients and 10% of Massachusetts recipients identified their race, but of those who did, the over- whelming majority of loans went to white-owned businesses. % of Central Number of Mass. who Number % of Mass. Central Mass. identified of Mass. who identified Race/ethnicity recipients their race recipients their race Note: Black category includes "Black or African American," and Native includes "American Indian or Alaskan Native." Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Total Central Massachusetts loans: White 1,642 83.82% 9,166 84.89% Asian 157 8.01% 769 7.12% Hispanic 113 5.77% 596 5.52% Black 35 1.79% 210 1.94% Native 12 0.61% 56 0.52% Unanswered 15,907 102,198 PPP loan sizes, by race Paycheck Protection Program loan recipients who identified as businesses owned by a person of color were more likely to get a small loan from the program. % of Central Number of Mass. who Number % of Mass. Central Mass. identified of Mass. who identified Race/ethnicity recipients their race recipients their race Loans under $150,000: White 1,252 81.30% 6,732 82.86% Asian 144 9.35% 674 8.30% Hispanic 101 6.56% 515 6.34% Black 33 2.14% 162 1.99% Native 10 0.65% 42 0.52% Unanswered 13,734 86,619 % of Central Number of Mass. who Number % of Mass. Central Mass. identified of Mass. who identified Race/ethnicity recipients their race recipients their race Loans over $150,000: White 390 93.08% 2,434 91.09% Asian 13 3.10% 95 3.56% Hispanic 12 2.86% 81 3.03% Black 2 0.48% 48 1.80% Native 2 0.48% 14 0.52% Unanswered 2,173 15,579 and credit unions, the program ensures that businesses of color that have histor- ically lacked access to credit are likely to face barriers in accessing critical PPP loans," the Center for Responsible Lend- ing, a North Carolina-based advocacy group, said at the outset of the program. In the past five years, white-owned businesses were twice as likely to access credit from a bank, the center said. e PPP's fee structure heavily discouraged lending to smaller businesses or the self-employed, which are more likely to be minority-owned, it said. Another group, the National Commu- nity Reinvestment Coalition, conducted a study to see how business owners of different colors would fare. e nonprof- it had testers with names and voices it found to be easily identifiable with a race contact 32 bank branches in its home city of Washington, D.C. eir financial profiles, including credit histories strong enough to qualify for a loan, otherwise matched. Black testers were treated differently, the coalition said. In 43% of the cases, the white would-be applicants were treated more favorably, including being encouraged to apply for a loan. In some cases, Black testers were discouraged from applying for a loan, or asked more questions about their business. Other findings include a national survey in mid-May from the equal rights groups Color of Change and Unidos finding 8% of Black business owners re- ported receiving the financial assistance they requested from the PPP program. Another 23% said they received no assistance. Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, told e New York Times the lack of financial assistance could mean the end of many of the businesses. "If we don't get policies to protect these communities," Robinson said, "we will lose a generation of Black and brown businesses, which will have deep impacts on our entire country's economy." Compounding the issue is Black- and other minority-owned businesses have been found to be disproportionately hurt by the pandemic to begin with. A working paper by Robert Fairlie, an economics professor at the Univer- sity of California Santa Cruz, found Black-owned businesses to have failed in the first months of the pandemic at nearly double the rate of those overall: 41% compared to 22%. Hispanic-owned businesses failed over that period – from February to April – at a rate of 32%, Cruz found. PPP loan receipients identifying as Black-owned Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Company name Loan amount City Jobs retained Industry Business type Ace Medical Services $350,000-1 million Worcester 97 Health care and social assistance Corporation Acclaim Home Health Care $150,000-$350,000 Worcester 37 Health care and social assistance Subchapter S corporation Not disclosed $146,200 Milford 15 Health care and social assistance Corporation Not disclosed $145,832 Worcester 9 Health care and social assistance Corporation Not disclosed $133,600 Franklin 14 Health care and social assistance Corporation Not disclosed $111,800 Sturbridge 24 Accommodation and food services Limited liability company Not disclosed $110,620 Douglas 22 Manufacturing Corporation Not disclosed $100,000 Worcester 10 Real estate rental and leasing Corporation Not disclosed $69,300 Worcester 10 Other services Corporation Not disclosed $51,200 Grafton 5 Health care and social assistance Subchapter S corporation Not disclosed $50,600 Worcester 14 Educational services Limited liability company Not disclosed $45,600 Leominster 5 Retail trade Limited liability company Not disclosed $41,510 Fitchburg 5 Arts, entertainment and recreation Corporation Not disclosed $40,465 Hopedale 2 Arts, entertainment and recreation Subchapter S corporation Not disclosed $37,500 Worcester 8 Health care and social assistance Corporation Not disclosed $35,000 Ayer 9 Other services Non-profit organization Not disclosed $29,980 Hudson 8 Other services Corporation Not disclosed $29,800 Grafton 4 Retail trade Subchapter S corporation Not disclosed $26,543 Worcester 5 Retail trade Corporation Not disclosed $18,700 Worcester 1 Transportation and warehousing Sole proprietorship Not disclosed $16,800 Worcester 1 Finance and insurance Self-employed Not disclosed $14,305 Worcester 4 Transportation and warehousing Subchapter S corporation Not disclosed $13,600 Worcester 1 Finance and insurance Limited liability company Not disclosed $11,737 Framingham 2 Retail trade Subchapter S corporation Not disclosed $11,300 Worcester 5 Accommodation and food services Limited liability company Not disclosed $10,000 Maynard 1 Transportation and warehousing Self-employed Not disclosed $8,930 Franklin 3 Manufacturing Limited liability company Not disclosed $8,300 Natick 1 Health care and social assistance Sole proprietorship Not disclosed $8,300 Worcester 1 Transportation and warehousing Sole proprietorship Not disclosed $8,100 Worcester 1 Wholesale trade Limited liability company Not disclosed $6,550 Fitchburg 4 Accommodation and food services Sole proprietorship Not disclosed $3,400 Marlborough 8 Health care and social assistance Partnership Not disclosed $2,500 Acton 1 Transportation and warehousing Self-employed Not disclosed $2,200 Worcester 3 Health care and social assistance Corporation Not disclosed $1,500 Ashland 2 Professional, scientific and technical services Corporation W