Did FinTech Lenders Facilitate PPP Fraud? — John M. Griffin, Samuel Kruger, Prateek Mahajan (The Journal of Finance, Issue 3, 2023)

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This SSRN page lists the paper Did FinTech Lenders Facilitate PPP Fraud? by John M. Griffin, Samuel Kruger and Prateek Mahajan of the University of Texas at Austin - Department of Finance, published in The Journal of Finance, Volume 78, Issue 3, 2023 (115 pages; posted 18 Aug 2021, last revised 10 Jun 2025). The abstract examines metrics in the $793 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), among them abnormally high implied compensation per employee and large inconsistencies with jobs reported in another government program. It states that these measures consistently concentrate in certain FinTech lenders and are cross-verified by seven additional measures, and that suspicious lending by FinTechs in 2021 is four times the level at the start of the program. Suspicious loans, it adds, are being overwhelmingly forgiven at similar rates to other loans.

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Did FinTech Lenders Facilitate PPP Fraud?

The Journal of Finance, Volume 78, Issue 3, 2023 [10.1111/jofi.13209]

115 Pages

Posted: 18 Aug 2021

Last revised: 10 Jun 2025

See all articles by John M. Griffin
John M. Griffin

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Finance

Samuel Kruger

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Finance

Prateek Mahajan

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Finance

Date Written: August 15, 2022

Abstract

In the $793 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), we examine metrics related to potenDid FinTech Lenders Facilitate PPP Fraud? (Griffin, Kruger and Mahajan, working paper, December 6, 2021) addresses, abnormally high implied compensation per employee, and large inconsistencies with jobs reported in another government program. These measures consistently concentrate in certain FinTech lenders and are cross-verified by seven additional measures. FinTech market share increased significantly over time, and suspicious lending by FinTechs in 2021 is four times the level at the start of the program. Suspicious loans are being overwhelmingly forgiven at similar rates to other loans.

Keywords: FinTech, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Misreporting, Fraud

JEL Classification: G21, G23, G28, H12

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