§ 107.730 Financings which constitute conflicts of interest. ( a ) *General rule.* You must not self-deal to the prejudice of a Small Business, the Licensee, its shareholders or partners, or SBA. Unless you obtain a prior written exemption from SBA for special instances in which a Financing may further the purposes of the Act despite presenting a conflict of interest, you must not directly or indirectly: ( 1 ) Provide Financing to any of your Associates, except for when the Small Business that receives the Financing is your Associate, pursuant to paragraph (8)(ii) of *Associate* as defined in § 107.50, only because an investment fund that is your Associate holds a 10% or greater equity interest in the Small Business and either of the following conditions is met: ( i ) You and the Associate investment fund previously invested in the Small Business at the same time and on the same terms and conditions; and you and the Associate investment fund are providing follow-on financing to the Small Business at the same time, on the same terms and conditions, and in the same proportionate dollar amounts as your respective investments in the previous round(s) of financing. *Example 1 to paragraph (a)(1)(i):* If you invested $2 million and your Associate invested $1 million in the previous round, your respective follow-on investments would be in the same 2:1 ratio.
( ii ) An independent third party is investing in the Small Business at the same time as the Licensee and on the same terms and conditions as the Licensee and represents a significant portion of the Financing; provided, that if the Licensee has a prior Financing in such Small Business, a Licensee's position in such prior Financing may not be diminished or diluted to the benefit of an Associate.
( 2 ) Provide Financing to an Associate of another Licensee if one of your Associates has received or will receive any direct or indirect Financing or a Commitment from that Licensee or a third Licensee (including Financing or Commitments received under any understanding, agreement, or cross dealing, reciprocal or circular arrangement).
( 3 ) Borrow money from: ( i ) A Small Business Financed by you;
( ii ) An officer, director, or owner of at least a 10 percent equity interest in such business; or
( iii ) A Close Relative of any such officer, director, or equity owner.
( 4 ) Provide Financing to a Small Business to discharge an obligation to your Associate or free other funds to pay such obligation. This paragraph (a)(4) does not apply if the obligation is to an Associate Lending Institution and is a line of credit or other obligation incurred in the normal course of business.
( 5 ) Provide Financing to a Small Business for the purpose of purchasing property from your Associate, except as permitted under § 107.720(h).
( b ) *Rules applicable to Associates.* Without SBA' s prior written approval, your Associates must not, directly or indirectly: ( 1 ) Borrow money from any Person described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section.
( 2 ) Receive from a Small Business any compensation in connection with Assistance you provide (except as permitted under §§ 107.825(c) and 107.900), or anything of value for procuring, attempting to procure, or influencing your action with respect to such Assistance.
( c ) *Applicability of other laws.* You are also bound by any restrictions in Federal or State laws governing conflicts of interest and fiduciary obligations.
( d ) *Financings with Associates* — ( 1 ) *Financings with Associates requiring prior approval.* Without SBA's prior written approval, you may not Finance any business in which your Associate has either a voting equity interest, or total equity interests (including potential interests), of at least five percent.
( 2 ) *Other Financings with Associates.* If you and an Associate provide Financing to the same Small Business, either at the same time or at different times, you must be able to demonstrate to SBA's satisfaction that the terms and conditions are (or were) fair and equitable to you, taking into account any differences in the timing of each party's financing transactions.
( 3 ) *Exceptions to paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section.* A Financing that falls into one of the following categories is exempt from the prior approval requirement in paragraph (d)(1) of this section or is presumed to be fair and equitable to you for the purposes of paragraph (d)(2) of this section, as appropriate: ( i ) Your Associate is a Lending Institution that is providing financing under a credit facility in order to meet the operational needs of the Small Business, and the terms of such financing are usual and customary.
( ii ) Your Associate invests in the Small Business on the same terms and conditions and at the same time as you.
( iii ) You are a Non-leveraged Licensee, and your Associate either is not a Licensee or is a Non-leveraged Licensee.
( e ) *Use of Associates to manage Portfolio Concerns.* To protect your investment, you may designate an Associate to serve as an officer, director, or other participant in the management of a Small Business. You must identify any such Associate in your records available for SBA's review under § 107.600. Without SBA's prior written approval, the Associate must not: ( 1 ) Have any other direct or indirect financial interest in the Portfolio Concern that exceeds, or has the potential to exceed, 5 percent of the Portfolio Concern's equity.
( 2 ) Have served for more than 30 days as an officer, director or other participant in the management of the Portfolio Concern before you provided Financing.
( 3 ) Receive any income or anything of value from the Portfolio Concern unless it is for your benefit, with the exception of director's fees, expenses, and distributions based upon the Associate's ownership interest in the Concern.
( f ) *1940 and 1980 Act Companies: SEC exemptions.* If you are a 1940 or 1980 Act Company and you receive an exemption from the Securities and Exchange Commission for a transaction described in this § 107.730, you need not obtain SBA's approval of the transaction. However, you must promptly notify SBA of the transaction and satisfy the public notice requirements in paragraph (g) of this section.
( g ) *Public notice.* Before granting an exemption under this § 107.730, SBA will publish notice of the transaction in the Federal Register.
[61 FR 3189, Jan. 31, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 5867, Feb. 5, 1998; 64 FR 70996, Dec. 20, 1999; 77 FR 20294, Apr. 4, 2012; 88 FR 46011, July 18, 2023]