Quad-City businesses borrowed between $312 and $593 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans (2024)

Businesses in the Illinois Quad-Cities borrowed between $72 million and $175 million in COVID-related loans— about half what Davenport and Bettendorf took.

Combined, businesses in the Illinois and Iowa Quad-Cities took between $312 million and $593 million in stimulus loans; most of which are likely to be forgiven by the federal government.

The Treasury Department's Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, was approved by Congress as part of its pandemic stimulus package. The CARES Act supplied banks with $659 billion to make the loans, which do not have to be repaid if they meet certain criteria.

In East Moline, Moline and Rock Island, 177 businesses borrowed between $71.9 million and $175.8 million in loans between $150,000 and $10 million.

The Treasury and Small Business Administration released detailed data on the program earlier this month. For loans under $150,000, specific amounts were disclosed, but the identity of the borrowers was not.

In the Illinois Quad-Cities, 969 businesses borrowed more than $29 million in loans under $150,000. More than 1,500 businesses in Davenport and Bettendorf borrowed about $42 million in loans under $150,000. Though the bulk of all loans was below the low-dollar benchmark, those in the upper ranges accounted for hundreds of millions more dollars.

For loans over $150,000, the Treasury supplied five broad ranges of borrowed amounts, rather than specific dollar figures.

For instance, only one business in the Illinois Quad-Cities— restaurant and hotel company Heart of America— borrowed from the highest range, which is between $5 million and $10 million.

Two Davenport companies, McCarthy-Bush Corporation and Palmer College Foundation, borrowed from the highest range, and one Bettendorf company, ORA Orthopedics, took the highest-end loan.

Healthcare-related companies appear regularly on the PPP list, including more than 50 such Quad-City business. Even more commonly found on the loan list are businesses in construction-related fields — nearly 60 of them.

Churches not exempt from PPP

One category of borrowers in the program that has stirred controversy nationally is churches and/or religious schools. The Quad-Cities has at least 15 such borrowers, including the Catholic Diocese of Davenport, which took between $350,000 and $1 million for its PPP loan.

While churches are exempt from paying property taxes, they are not exempt from payroll taxes.

"The Paycheck Protection Program loan provided a level of certainty during the early weeks of the pandemic, which allowed the Diocese to continue its operations," said Tom Tallman, chief financial officer for the Diocese."All of the Paycheck Protection Program loan was used for its intended purpose: to continue to pay employees their salary and benefits."

Treasury records indicate the Diocese has 49 employees, and Tallmansaid all of payroll was covered by PPP money in the early weeks of the pandemic.

"This aid allowed the chancery staff to continue working with groups, parishes and schools to provide compassionate care for the poor and those in need who suffer the most in society," he said.

Also borrowing between $350,000 and $1 million were Assumption High School, Our Lady of Victory Church of Davenport, St. Paul Lutheran Church and St. Paul the Apostle Church, both of Davenport, and Our Lady of Lourdes Church of Bettendorf. Seton Catholic School in Moline and Alleman Catholic High School in Rock Island also are listed as a $350,000-to-$1-million borrowers.

Five other Iowa-side churches and one in Illinois borrowed between $150,000 and $350,000.

Banks rushed to respond

At least two dozen local banks and credit unions went to work in April, processing applications for local businesses to borrow money to keep workers paid.

At SENB Bank in Moline, employees took in nearly 300 loans, totaling about $28 million for its Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin markets.

"Slightly less than 50 of the loans were in the amount of $150,000 or greater, the remainder were all 'small' loans of under $150,000," said Terry Esch, executive vice president at SENB. "Demand for the loans was high ... as many 'non-essential' businesses were temporarily shut-down."

Most of the loan-processing work was done electronically, he said, because many bank employees were working remotely in response to the pandemic declaration. The PPP applications were posted to the bank's website, Esch said, and SENB then submitted the borrower information to the SBA for review and approval.

In order for the federally backed loans to be forgiven, borrowers must demonstrate at least 60 percent of the loan went to job retention.

"There are really two stages to the PPP— the first stage being Origination (making) of the loans, and, the second stage, which is just beginning, which is the Forgiveness stage," Esch said.

While the PPP data released early this month by the Treasury contains a column marked "jobs retained," Esch said he thinks the number more accurately reflects the total number of employees, which was provided by the borrowers. The SBA did not require a job-retention number during the loan-origination process, which will be required during forgiveness consideration.

In about 50 instances on the PPP data for the Quad-Cities, no job or employee numbers were provided. The data was absent in about 10 percent of the roughly 500 loans between $150,000 and $10 million taken in Bettendorf, Davenport, East Moline, Moline and Rock Island.

The Treasury's loan-forgiveness application asks for the number of employees at the time the loan was made and the number of employees at the time the forgiveness is/was requested.

At TBK Bank, an estimated 5,300 Quad-City workers benefited from loans processed through the bank locally.

“Pulling this effort together was no easy feat," said John DeDoncker, president of TBK Bank Midwest Division. "There were a number of process, documentation requirements and reviews that TBK Bank had to undergo to bring this program to life."

As with bank employees at SENB, many were working from home, DeDoncker said, doing so "through nights and weekends."

“We’re incredibly proud to continue doing our part to help keep the Quad-Cities employed during the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "We’ve seen the profound effect, especially in Rock Island County, that the pandemic has had on businesses— particularly the hospitality and service-oriented ones."

According to the Treasury Department, the SBA will pay lenders fees for processing PPP loans in the following amounts:

• 5% for loans of not more than $350,000;

• 3% for loans of more than $350,000 and less than $2,000,000; and

• 1% for loans of at least $2,000,000.

Lenders may not collect any fees from applicants.

Masks are tied to money

In looking at the big-picture numbers tied to the pandemic stimulus package, workers at the Quad-City Chamber instantly detected the impact.

Paul Rumler, Chamber president, said the region's six-county area (Clinton, Muscatine, Scott, Rock Island, Henry and Mercer counties) has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP)— the value of goods and services produced— of roughly $23 billion annually, or about $2 billion a month in economic activity.

Total PPP loans in the region were as high as $750 million; the majority in Scott and Rock Island Counties.

"So, the PPP represented almost half a month worth of activity ... at a time when there was a lot of uncertainty and desperation," Rumler said.

While the Chamber supported the loan program, its emphasis now has shifted, given that most businesses have had "ample time" to pursue PPP and another priority has arisen, Rumler said.

"Our focus right now is keeping the economy open," he said. "We want everybody to act in a responsible manner, so we don't go backwards.

"We all see wearing masks as the most important focus we can promote."