[Read our Coronavirus Relief Small Business F.A.Q.]

Small business owners, desperate for help amid the economic meltdown wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, are eagerly awaiting the start of a $349 billion government relief program.

But just one day before the program’s launch on Friday, the banks and other lenders that the government is relying on to fund loans and vet applicants were still waiting for much of the information they need to participate. They are also nervous about how they — and the government — will handle what is expected to be a huge crush of demand.

“The response is overwhelming — it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Craig Street, the chief lending officer of United Midwest Savings Bank, a community bank in Columbus, Ohio. “We’re talking about attempting to do 10 times our normal monthly loan volume, and maybe more than that.”

The so-called paycheck protection program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus package enacted last week, offers companies and nonprofits with up to 500 workers a low-interest loan to cover up to two months of payroll and other expenses. Most — and in some cases, all — of the loan will be forgiven if the borrower retains its workers and doesn’t cut their wages. (The government will repay lenders for the forgiven portions of the loans.)