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Small Banks Helped Businesses Win More PPP Loans
Jim Medeiros (left, with sunglasses), owner of Kuleana Consulting, and his work crew restore the ancient Ala Kahaki National Historic Trail on Hawaii’s Big Island. The cultural consulting company received $33,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans after work stopped during the pandemic.
Jeremiah Valenzuela
Kuleana Consulting
As visitors disappeared from Hawaii’s beaches in late March and job losses reached historic highs, local employers worried they wouldn’t get their share of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.
“We were paranoid,” said Rich Wacker, president of the American Savings Bank in Honolulu. The money to help with payroll and other bills was first-come, first-serve, and Hawaiians feared big mainland banks could get all the money first.