James and Mary Ann Orloff own Orloff Jewelers in Fresno. Photo contributed

One Fresno business owner was able to submit a loan application for the Paycheck Protection Program, and is awaiting approval from the Small Business Administration.

Mary Ann Orloff, owner of Orloff Jewelers in Fresno with her husband James, worked with Citizens Business Bank to submit the application.

“They’ve been wonderful,” Orloff said.

Orloff may be one of the lucky ones, as many business owners have expressed frustration having their applications processed by their bank. Some banks are not participating in the program and others are only taking applications from existing customers.

Orloff said she has been with Citizens Business Bank for about eight months.

Dawn Golik, district director at the Fresno office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, said her office is working to aid financial institutions in getting out the loans since the program began seven days ago.

“Since then, the Fresno District Office has been helping numerous financial institutions around the San Joaquin Valley get added to the list of participating SBA lenders,” Golik said in statement. “Additionally, the SBA is assisting banks in expanding the number of small businesses they are serving under the Paycheck Protection Program.”

Tal Cloud, president of Paper, Pulp & Film Converters in Fresno, said he is trying to apply for the federal loan, but has been unable to.

“The banks aren’t prepared to do it,” he said. “They’re not able to accept the applications.”

A number of local community bank leaders contacted didn’t immediately respond for this story. Also complicating their ability to speak at the moment is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s so-called “quiet period,” when a bank is limited in the information it can release to the public before issuing quarterly earnings reports, expected starting next week.

About $350 billion is available through the Paycheck Protection Act, with Congress currently deliberating on a Trump Administration proposal to add another $250 billion to the program. Senate Democrats blocked that additional funding Thursday, according to news reports.

Steve Ocheltree, a certified public accountant at Ocheltree CPA in Fresno, said that the stimulus package is a glimmer of hope for struggling businesses. He said some of his clients have had to close their doors and send employees home while their vendors are not affording any flexibility in rent or bill payments.

“I’m advising all my clients to apply soon,” Ocheltree said. “There are a lot of people who are going to be applying nationwide, and the sooner you get your application started, the sooner you find out what relief is available for your business. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.”

For Orloff, the COVID-19 pandemic has represented a new way to do business. While their Fig Garden Village storefront is closed to the public, some staff remains to take care of daily bookkeeping and to return jewelry that has been repaired to customers. All others have been furloughed.

For now, the Orloffs are using applications like Zoom and Facetime to show jewelry virtually to potential customers.

“We’ve done pretty alright,” she said.

Things will be better once relief funding arrives, she added.