Some Public Companies Took Out PPP Loans Then Paid Dividends And Bought Back Shares
Some publicly traded companies that received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, or PPP, subsequently bought shares of their own stock and paid out dividends, raising questions about whether such loans were even needed by some firms.
The Washington Post reported that while the practice is not prohibited, the taxpayer-backed, low-interest forgivable small business loans were mostly designed to pay employees during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the rules of the Small Business Administration, PPP loans could also be used to pay mortgage interest, leases...