Haverhill Bank’s Tom Mortimer Says $15 Million Aid is a Lifeline for Small Businesses

Haverhill Bank has stepped up with millions of dollars in funding aimed at supporting local businesses and reducing employee layoffs during COVID-19-related lockdowns.As a longtime participating lender in U.S. Small Business Administration programs, the bank was ideally prepared to help when Congress approved the Paycheck Protection Program. The PPP as it is known was the centerpiece of a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package and converts many loans into outright grants. Appearing live over 97.9 WHAV FM this morning, Haverhill Bank President and CEO Thomas L. Mortimer said the bank knows how important the program is to families, neighbors, frontline workers.“There were some emotional applications here. People who were absolutely, this is their lifeline, and you knew that when you had to reach out to them to ask a question on their application, and you can tell in their voice, ‘am I going to get this money?’” He said.The program allows businesses to keep paying employees or bring back laid off workers. For the kinds of small businesses served by Haverhill Bank, most businesses won’t have to repay the loan if they keep people on the payroll.Haverhill Bank funded $15 million to local businesses, ultimately receiving more than 174 applications and $34 million in requests. Another 31 applications and $1.4 million in requests are awaiting action in a second round if Congress approves. He explained the legislature allocated $349 billion, and the bank processed loans all the way up until the time the current round of funding ran out yesterday.Mortimer said the nation won’t know for awhile whether the program did its job.“Its what happens when we look back in a month or two how many people came off unemployment, how many businesses survived. I believe, that without this, many of the businesses that are open today will not last another two weeks, four weeks, six weeks.”Support the show