§ 5001.11 - Guarantee application process.

(a) Beginning the process. Any lender may submit a pre-application or a full application to begin an application for guarantee.

(1) Pre-application. Based on the information in the pre-application, the Agency will make an informal assessment of the eligibility of the borrower and project. The Agency will provide written informal comments regarding the pre-application's strengths and weaknesses. The Agency's assessment may change based on subsequently submitted information, is solely advisory in nature, does not obligate the Agency to approve a guarantee request, and is not considered a favorable or adverse decision by the Agency.

(2) Guarantee application. For each guarantee request, the lender must submit to the Agency an application that is in conformance with § 5001.12.

(b) Guarantee application evaluation. All loan guarantee applications will be evaluated according to this part.

(1) The Agency will notify the lender in writing of its decision.

(2) In the evaluation of the application, the Agency may require the lender to obtain additional assistance in those areas where the lender does not have the requisite expertise to originate or service the loan. For the purposes of this paragraph “those areas” mean:

(i) The type and complexity of the financing (e.g., asset based financing, cash flow financing, bond financing), and

(ii) The industries with which the lender has little or no origination and/or servicing experience.

(c) Loan approval and issuing the guarantee. Complete applications from preferred lenders will be approved, subject to the availability of funds, or rejected not later than 10 business days after receipt. For the purpose of determining the application processing timeframes, an application will not be considered complete until all information required to make an approval decision, including a completed environmental review, is received by the Agency.