The U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month released data on Paycheck Protection Program recipients, amid calls from the media and others to make the information publication.

All told, the Treasury Department’s Paycheck Protection Program authorized $520 billion for nearly 5 million mostly small businesses and nonprofits.

The feds released local data as well on recipients who took loans of less than $150,000, offering us the first comprehensive look at just how much relief funding flowed into the Central Valley.

Business Journal Researcher Edward Smith poured through details of more than 500,000 loans made in California, extracting information about lending in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties. The spreadsheet generally did not include the names of businesses receiving loans, but did include loan amounts, city and zip code of the recipient, lending bank, some demographic data of the recipient and even North American Industry Classification System codes to indicate the industry of the recipient.

The data was fairly raw, and by some indications included some data entry errors. But it is the first real look at PPP lending that wasn’t released by a bank. The data reveals that more than a half billion dollars — $519,876,122 to be exact — was loaned to businesses in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties. This was from a total of 13,399 loans that served to retain 88,156 jobs, which might partly explain why unemployment in the Central Valley fell slightly in May compared to a chaotic April.

Central Valley community banks were at the forefront of that unprecedented lending effort. The Business Journal will include data about specific banks, how much they lent and where in a future issue.

One of those financial institutions on the front lines was Premier Valley Bank of Fresno. Its parent company, Heartland Financial USA, Inc., operates 11 community banks in the U.S. It processed $1.5 billion in PPP loans as of early April across those institutions.

“Premier Valley Bank is proud to have helped hundreds of small businesses during this difficult and challenging time,” stated Lo Nestman, President and CEO of PVB. “We’ve processed 416 PPP loans of $82 million, preserving more than 5,954 jobs.”

The PPP program officially ended at the end of June, but President Donald Trump last week signed an extension of the program until Aug. 8. More than $100 billion remains available for lending.

 

The breakdown of money is as follows:

Central Valley (Fresno, Kings, Madera, Tulare counties) total — $519,876,122 loaned, $38,799 average loan amount, 13,399 loans made, $149,995 maximum loan, $17 minimum, 88,156 jobs retained

City of Fresno — $216,952,597 loaned, $38,507 average loan amount, 5,634 loans made, 40,521 jobs retained

City of Clovis — $44,241,014 loaned, $32,795 average loan amount, 1,349 loans made, $148,555 maximum loan, $320 minimum loan, 7064 jobs retained

City of Visalia — $60,131,445 loaned, $40,629 average loan amount, 1,480 loans made, $149,980 maximum loan, $46 minimum loan, 8,595 jobs retained

City of Hanford — $19,993,358 loaned, $41,566 average loan amount, 481 loans made, $143,300 maximum loan, $191 minimum loan, 2,812 jobs retained

City of Madera — $22,081,038 loaned, $37,680 average loan amount, 586 loans made, $149,000 maximum loan, $512 minimum loan, 3,814 jobs retained

City of Tulare — $34,109,343 loaned, $44,526 average loan amount, 519 loans made, $148,900 maximum loan, $1,000 minimum loan, 3,009 jobs retained

City of Porterville — $12,741,457 loaned, $39,693 average loan amount, 321 loans made, $149,965 maximum loan, $599 minimum loan, 2,099 jobs retained

Fresno County — $329,480,415 loaned, $37,845 average loan amount, 8,706 loans made, $149,995 maximum loan, $17 minimum loan, 58,622 jobs retained, 500 biggest single job retention from a $78,900 loan made to a Fresno job placement agency.

Madera County — $35,105,960 loaned, $36,645 average loan amount, 958 loans made, $149,000 maximum loan, $512 minimum loan, 5,802 jobs retained, 300 biggest single job retention from a $53,700 loan made to a Madera professional, scientific or technical services business.

Tulare County — $129,806,406 loaned, $41,026 average loan amount, 3,164 loans made, $149,995 maximum loan, $46 minimum loan, 19,598 jobs retained, 200 biggest single job retention from a $78,822 loan made to a Cutler support services business.

Kings County — $31,340,383 loaned, $43,287 average loan amount, 724 loans made, $146,584 maximum loan, $191 minimum loan, 5,206 jobs retained, 500 biggest single job retention from a $3,997 loan made to a Corcoran professional organization.

Source: U.S. Treasury Department