On Monday, May 4^th N.C. governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 1043 which included $125 million to provide funding for the NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loan Program.  This program seeks to assist North Carolina businesses by providing additional funding to small businesses directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Under House Bill 1043, N.C. seeks to do the following with the additional funding allocated to the NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loan Program:

• Require a lender to provide assistance, or direct to those who can provide assistance, to a qualifying business applying for available federal relief

• Require a lender to prioritize loans for establishments with 100 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees
  • Applicants must have at least 1 employee, included a self-employed owner
  • Any business that began prior to March 23, 2020, including start-ups, are eligible

• Provide loans at a maximum of $50,000 at an interest rate of up to 4% before the date of a triggering event and an interest rate of at least 5.5% on and after the date of a triggering event
  • A triggering event occurs six months following the loan closing date
  • Loan sizes are capped at approximately  2 months of current revenue
  • Six months of no payments
  • No prepayment penalties
  • Default loans are subject to collections

• The loan term shall not exceed 66 months

• The proceeds from the loan shall be used for:
  • Employee compensation
  • Mortgages
  • Rent
  • Utilities
  • Other operating costs and expenses

The application process has opened, and the state is working on getting funding to small business owners as quickly as possible.  Additional information, FAQs, and online applications may be found via https://ncrapidrecovery.org.  Support for the program may also be obtained by contacting Business Link North Carolina at 1-800-228-8443.

Please contact your Frost representative(s) with any questions.