Small- and midsize business owners around the U.S. are clamoring for a cut of $349 billion in emergency coronavirus loans, swamping banks and credit unions with an overwhelming surge of applications.

Lenders have already approved tens of billions of dollars in loans in less than a week and the Senate is set to approve another $250 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on Thursday.

Even so, financial firms are facing a slew of obstacles as they handle the onslaught, driven by inconsistent federal guidance, an uncoordinated and abrupt beginning, disputes within the industry and backlash from government officials.

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Here are five major problems faced in getting money to businesses in need.

Unprecedented demand

As the coronavirus outbreak forces restaurants and storefronts across the U.S. to shutter, business owners are scrambling for aid to stay afloat during a shutdown with no clear end date.

The PPP provides loans to small businesses that can be forgiven if used to cover payroll and other essential expenses, providing a sliver of sorely needed relief to struggling American firms. The program is administered by the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (SBA).

“We were just being inundated,” said Cynthia Blankenship, vice chairman of Bank of the West, a Fort Worth, Texas-area community bank. Blankenship estimated that on Monday alone, the bank received calls from roughly 250 existing customers and 500 from customers of larger banks that were slow to take up the PPP.

“We were getting these small businesses that had like $300,000 in their business account that were just livid and desperate.”

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Business advocates have warned the administration that while the program is helpful, it will do little on its own to keep firms alive amid a massive economic shutdown. Lawmakers and administration officials are bracing for the initial funding to run out quickly.

“If you can't get the loan today or tomorrow, don't worry, there will be money. If we run out of money, we'll go back for more," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Steven Terner MnuchinMcConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled Hillicon Valley: FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden | Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers On the Money: Pelosi draws line at .2T | Jobless claims dip | Swing-state jobless numbers an issue for Trump MORE said Wednesday on Fox Business.

Old technology buckles under a new program

The crush of applications has overwhelmed not only SBA officials, but also the technology the administration used to process annually just a fraction of the first round of PPP funding.

SBA’s E-Tran loan application system crashed over the weekend, creating massive backlogs even at banks used to navigating the agency’s system for other loans. Other banks struggled to receive SBA accreditation until days after the program began on Friday, overloading staffers already stretched thin by the unprecedented demand.

“E-Tran is still causing issues, but seems to be better than what it was over the weekend/earlier this week,” a banking industry source wrote in an email. The source estimated that while banks have been able to send out money, it’s “nowhere near the numbers coming from SBA and Treasury.”

Late and incomplete guidelines

Treasury and the SBA began approving PPP loans just a week after President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE enacted the bill that created the program, writing the rules and legal guidance for lenders along the way.

The administration has been forced to revise legal guidance for banks about what promissory notes to use and how to include PPP provisions in loan paperwork, among other snags that could slow the approval process. While banks and credit unions are eager for clearer, standardized guidance, senators from both parties are pushing for changes.

Concerns over legal liability

The brisk rollout and massive demand for the PPP have prompted fears among bankers about the potential legal risk they take when issuing loans under the program. Banks are awaiting guidance on how to navigate federal anti-money laundering laws but fear that the program may not protect them fully from frauds they unwittingly funded despite checking the necessary legal requirements.

Former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen Janet Louise YellenFed formally adopts new approach to balance inflation, unemployment Federal Reserve chief to outline plans for inflation, economy The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - First lady casts Trump as fighter for the 'forgotten' MORE, who approved the strictest penalties on a bank in the Fed’s history, even suggested to House Democrats this week that they consider a legal safe harbor for lenders issuing PPP loans.

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Political headwinds

Banks, credit unions and other lenders are also facing political fire for their efforts to manage the surge of PPP applications, with some criticism tied to the stigma of the 2008 bank bailout.

Sen. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioFlorida senators pushing to keep Daylight Savings Time during pandemic Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings MORE (R-Fla.) last week ripped Bank of America for limiting PPP applications to previous business-lending customers, calling on the massive company to aid the U.S. after taxpayers were forced to salvage the financial sector during the last economic downturn.

An SBA official also excoriated major banks for their delays in processing PPP loans in a video obtained by The Washington Post.

Banks “that had no problem taking billions of dollars of free money as bailout in 2008 are now the biggest banks that are resistant to helping small businesses,” Joseph Amato, the SBA's Nevada district director, said in a Monday teleconference about the Paycheck Protection Program.