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Less than half of eligible public firms accepted COVID-19 relief loans

Jun. 15, 2022

  • Profile Picture of Samuel Rosen

Department/Center:

The Payment Protection Program (PPP) granted public firms—which must disclose their finances to the public—eligibility to receive government loans. The PPP offers a unique opportunity to learn about public firms’ incentives to participate in emergency lending programs.

41.8% of eligible public firms chose to participate in this program, compared to 87% of private firms. Moreover, public PPP borrowers tended to be smaller, have less cash, higher leverage and fewer investment opportunities. 

A deeper dive into the data suggests two factors are motivating this behavior. First, public firms face reputational harm from the public if perceived to have accepted a loan they did not need. Second, firms may fear that accepting a loan will send negative signals to the public about their forward-looking performance.