Credit unions continue to make Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans through the original and Second Draw programs to help small businesses survive the pandemic, CUNA wrote to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Tuesday.

The Second Draw program allow certain eligible businesses to receive a second forgivable loan under generally the same terms and conditions available under the Paycheck Protection Program.

CUNA’s letter notes that, while the SBA has made implementation of the Second Draw program easier, there is still room to make improvements.

“One suggestion is that the SBA could provide a much simpler user-friendly format (like the Q&A) for assisting lenders in processing Second Draw Loans, rather than the list of error codes and bullet points in the notice,” the letter reads. “This would allow lenders to process these loans with less confusion and ensure the funds are not held up for eligible borrowers due to lenders being unable to understand all the error codes and the required “fixes” to get around the codes.

“Credit unions also continue to be challenged by a slow approval process. One issue slowing the approval of loans is errors given during processing for what should be correct applications,” the letter adds.

CUNA provided several specific examples of errors member credit unions have experienced and noted that credit unions are concerned they may not have “adequate support” from the SBA to remedy issues.

“Credit unions have reported to CUNA extended delays running into weeks for help from call centers, which makes it difficult to obtain help with questions and issues. We have also heard that the SBA servicing team is backlogged with tax ID issues from the forgiveness process,” the letter reads. “In addition to customer service issues, we received feedback that this round of PPP loans requires more extensive validation through multiple systems to process applications. The accumulation of these issues slows the loan process and credit unions’ ability to provide relief to Americans.”