Starting next week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will open applications for the next round of Paycheck Protection Program loans. Certain lenders including community development financial institutions (searchable database here) and minority depository institutions (list here), will be able to offer loans to first-time PPP borrowers on Monday and Tuesday, then to second-time borrowers on Wednesday. All other participating lenders will be able to process loans in the days following.

Lenders, while generally supportive of the Small Business Administration’s restart of the Paycheck Protection Program, have a number of unanswered questions about how it will operate. The SBA, which issued more than 120 pages of rules and guidance late Wednesday, is getting high marks for prioritizing underserved and marginalized groups. But concerns remain over the application process, particularly for existing PPP participants seeking a second loan, and verifying that a borrower qualifies.

Minority-led business owners have been at the end of the line when it comes to getting Covid-19 relief from the Paycheck Protection Program--you can change that. The reasons for the short shrift were manifold and include a lack of a prior banking relationship, informal compensation structures with employees, and having fewer employees in general.