[Federal Register: March 13, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 49)]
[Notices]
[Page 12032]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Maximum Portion of Guarantee Authority Available for Fiscal Year 2003
AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As set forth in 7 CFR part 4279, subpart B, each fiscal year
(FY) the Agency shall establish a limit on the maximum portion of
guarantee authority available for that fiscal year that may be used to
guarantee loans with a guarantee fee of 1 percent or guaranteed loans
with a guarantee percentage exceeding 80 percent. This notice covers
only FY 2002 carryover and recovered funds. Once FY 2003 appropriated
funds are apportioned, a second notice will be published for those
funds.
Allowing the guarantee fee to be reduced to 1 percent or exceeding
the 80 percent guarantee on certain guaranteed loans that meet the
conditions set forth in 7 CFR 4279.107 and 4279.119 will increase the
Agency's ability to focus guarantee assistance on projects which the
Agency has found particularly meritorious, such as projects in rural
communities that remain persistently poor, experience long-term
population decline and job deterioration, are experiencing trauma as a
result of natural disaster or are experiencing fundamental structural
changes in the economic base.
Not all of the available Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed
Loan program funding authority for FY 2002 was used; consequently, this
and recovered funding authority for approved B&I Guaranteed Loans which
did not come to fruition are now apportioned and available for use. Not
more than 12 percent of the Agency's quarterly apportioned carryover
and recovered guarantee authority will be reserved for loan requests
with a guarantee fee of 1 percent, and not more than 15 percent of the
Agency quarterly apportioned carryover and recovered guarantee
authority will be reserved for guaranteed loan requests with a
guaranteed percentage exceeding 80 percent. Once the above quarterly
limits have been reached, all additional loans guaranteed with
carryover and recovered funds during the remainder of that quarter will
require a 2 percent guarantee fee and not exceed an 80 percent
guarantee limit. As an exception to this paragraph and for the purposes
of this notice, loans developed by the North American Development Bank
(NADBank) Community Adjustment and Investment Program (CAIP) will not
count against the 15 percent limit. Up to 50 percent of CAIP funds may
be used for loan requests with a guaranteed percentage exceeding 80
percent.
Written requests by the Rural Development State Office for approval
of a guaranteed loan with a 1 percent guarantee fee or a guaranteed
loan exceeding 80 percent must be forwarded to the National Office,
Attn: Director, Business and Industry Division, for review and
consideration prior to obligation of the guaranteed loan. The
Administrator will provide a written response to the State Office
confirming approval or disapproval of the request.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 13, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Kieferle, Processing Branch
Chief, Business and Industry Division, Rural Business-Cooperative
Service, USDA, Stop 3224, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20250-3224, telephone (202) 720-7818.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action has been reviewed and determined
not to be a rule or regulation as defined in Executive Order 12866.
Dated: March 4, 2003.
John Rosso,
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 03-6052 Filed 3-12-03; 8:45 am]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 2003/03/14 EST