Publicly-traded companies have 2 weeks to give back loans intended for small businesses

The Treasury Department is asking publicly traded companies who received loans from a fund intended to help small business recover from the pandemic to return the money by May 7 or face consequences, according to new guidance issued on Thursday.

The department said it was "unlikely that a public company with substantial market value and access to capital markets" could prove that a federal loan was necessary for it to stay afloat.

The request from the Treasury Department came after large companies who took loans from the program were criticized heavily as the fund ran out of money — and many small businesses, which the money was intended to help, were unable to get a loan.

Large companies were able to access the funds through a loophole in the restrictions that was meant to save the loans for small-business use only.

More