Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 30, 2009 / Notices 50263 

Language was added to provide 

additional clarity regarding the 

penalties for incomplete and/or 

inaccurate statements. Language was 

added to clarify that the form may also 

be used by agencies in determining 

whether a subject performing work for 

or on behalf of the Government under a 

contract should be deemed eligible for 

logical or physical access when the 

nature of the work to be performed is 

sensitive and could bring about an 

adverse effect on the national security. 

Language referencing immunity 

protections was added to the questions 

regarding illegal use of drugs or drug 

activity, use of information technology 

systems, and association record. 

Questions were added to the section on 

police record in order to identify 

respondents who may be impacted by 

the restrictions cited in the Lautenberg 

Amendment. The advisement regarding 

mental health counseling was expanded 

to explain that mental health counseling 

in and of itself is not a reason to revoke 

or deny eligibility for access to 

classified information or for a sensitive 

position, suitability or fitness to obtain 

or retain Federal employment, fitness to 

obtain or retain contract employment, or 

eligibility for physical or logical access 

to Federally controlled facilities or 

information systems. Questions that 

elicited the reason for and nature of 

mental health treatment were removed, 

as were questions regarding 

participation in self-help groups for 

alcohol abuse. In the financial record 

section, the question regarding 

involvement with a credit counseling 

service was amended to better capture 

mitigating information from 

respondents who seek assistance to 

resolve financial difficulties. A question 

on holding foreign political office and 

voting in foreign elections was moved 

from the form’s association record 

section to the form’s foreign activities 

section. 

To provide additional clarity, a copy 

of a matrix, ‘‘Changes between Current 

Form and proposed Sep 09 30-day 

Notice,’’ that shows the changes 

between the currently approved SF 86 

and the SF 86 proposed in this 30-day 

notice, is available upon request. 

John Berry, 

Director, U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

[FR Doc. E9–23711 Filed 9–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–53–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Business Loan Program Maximum 

Allowable Fixed Rate 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

ACTION: Notice announcing maximum 

allowable fixed rate. 

SUMMARY: This Notice announces the 

maximum allowable fixed rate for 7(a) 

guaranteed loans. 

DATES: This Notice is effective October 

1, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

Lender Relations Specialist in the SBA 

district office nearest you. The list of 

offices can be found at http:// 

www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agency 

regulations at 13 CFR 120.213(a), Fixed 

Rates for Guaranteed Loans, state the 

following: ‘‘A loan may have a 

reasonable fixed interest rate. SBA 

periodically publishes the maximum 

allowable rate in the Federal Register.’’ 

For a number of years, the SBA 

maximum allowable fixed rate has been 

based on the Prime rate. Because the 

Prime rate is a short term rate, very few 

lenders have been willing to make long 

term SBA Section 7(a) loans with a fixed 

rate. In order to provide small 

businesses with an opportunity to lock 

in the fixed interest rates available in 

the market today, SBA is revising how 

the maximum allowable fixed rate is 

calculated. Effective October 1, 2009, 

the SBA maximum allowable fixed rate 

for 7(a) loans (other than SBA Express 

and Export Express loans) will utilize a 

new base rate for fixed rate loans (Fixed 

Base Rate) plus the maximum allowable 

spreads that are already being used on 

variable rate loans. 

The Fixed Base Rate for a 7(a) loan 

will be calculated as follows: The SBA 

LIBOR Base Rate (defined in 13 CFR 

120.214 as the 1-month LIBOR in effect 

on the first business day of the month 

as printed in a national financial 

newspaper each business day PLUS 300 

basis points), plus the average of the 5- 

year and 10-year LIBOR swap rates in 

effect on the first business day of the 

month as printed in a national financial 

newspaper published each business 

day. In other words, the Fixed Base Rate 

is based on the rate a borrower would 

pay if it purchased a floating-to-fixed 

rate swap contract on a 7(a) loan. A 

swap rate factors in what the money 

markets identify as the likely difference 

between a variable rate and a fixed rate 

over a set period of time. SBA chose to 

use the average of the 5-year and 10-year 

LIBOR swap rates in the calculation of 

the maximum allowable fixed rate 

because these rates are published in a 

financial newspaper on a daily basis 

and the average of these two rates will 

provide a basis for a maximum 

allowable fixed rate appropriate both for 

shorter term and longer term loans. 

The maximum allowable fixed rate for 

7(a) loans (excluding SBA Express and 

Export Express) will be the Fixed Base 

Rate plus the allowable interest rate 

spreads identified in 13 CFR 120.214 (d) 

and (e) and 13 CFR 120.215. (For SBA 

Express and Export Express loans, the 

maximum allowable interest rate is the 

prime rate plus 6.5 or 4.5 depending on 

the loan amount. See SOP 50 10 5(B), 

Subpart B, Chapter 3. SOP 50 10 5(B) 

may be found at http://www.sba.gov/ 

aboutsba/sbaprograms/elending/reg/ 

index.html.) 

The following is an example for 7(a) 

loan applications (other than SBA 

Express and Export Express), submitted 

to SBA in the month of September 2009 

if the new policy had been in effect: 

The SBA LIBOR Base Rate for 

September is 3.26. 

The 5-year LIBOR swap rate on the 

first business day of September as 

published in a national financial 

newspaper was 2.72 (rounded to the 

second decimal). The 10-year LIBOR 

swap rate on the first business day of 

September as published in a national 

financial newspaper was 3.60 (rounded 

to the second decimal). The average of 

these two rates is 3.16. 

The SBA Fixed Base Rate for loans 

submitted to SBA during September 

2009 would have been 6.42 [3.26 (SBA 

LIBOR Base Rate) + 3.16 (average of 5- 

year and 10-year swap rates)]. 

Thus, the maximum allowable fixed 

rates for 7(a) loans (other than SBA 

Express and Export Express) submitted 

to SBA in September 2009 would have 

been as follows: 

For 7(a) loans with a maturity less 

than 7 years: 6.42 (SBA Fixed Base Rate 

for September) + 2.25 (maximum spread 

for loans with a maturity less than 7 

years) equals 8.67 (maximum allowable 

fixed rate). If the loan amount is over 

$25,000 but not exceeding $50,000, the 

maximum allowable fixed rate may be 

increased by one percentage point. If the 

loan amount is $25,000 or less, the 

maximum allowable fixed rate may be 

increased by two percentage points. 

For 7(a) loans with a maturity of 7 

years or more: 6.42 (SBA Fixed Base 

Rate for September) + 2.75 (maximum 

spread for loans with a maturity of 7 

years or more) equals 9.17 (maximum 

allowable fixed rate). If the loan amount 

is over $25,000 but not exceeding 

$50,000, the maximum allowable fixed 

rate may be increased by one percentage 

point. If the loan amount is $25,000 or 


CPrice-Sewell on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
50264 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 30, 2009 / Notices 

less, the maximum allowable fixed rate 

may be increased by two percentage 

points. 

The maximum allowable fixed rates 

will be posted monthly on SBA’s Web 

site at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/ 

sbaprograms/elending on the second 

business day of the month, in the 

afternoon. SBA will review the 

newspaper on the second business day 

of the month to determine the SBA 

LIBOR Base Rate and the LIBOR swap 

rates in effect on the first business day 

of the month and will use those rates in 

the calculation. 

The new maximum allowable fixed 

rates identified in this Notice will be 

available for 7(a) loan applications 

(other than SBA Express and Export 

Express) received by SBA on or after 

October 1, 2009. 

Questions on the maximum allowable 

fixed rates may be directed to the 

Lender Relations Specialist in the local 

SBA district office. The local SBA 

district office may be found at http:// 

www.sba.gov/localresources. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 636(a)(4)(A) and 13 

CFR 20.213. 

Richard C. Blewett, 

Acting Director, Office of Financial 

Assistance. 

[FR Doc. E9–23558 Filed 9–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Small Business Information Security 

Task Force; Request for Nominations 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

ACTION: Request for nominations. 

SUMMARY: On May 22, 2009, Public Law 

111–24 was signed by the President 

establishing, among other things, a 

Small Business Information Security 

Task Force. This task force was 

established to address the information 

technology security needs of small 

businesses and to help small businesses 

prevent the loss of credit card data. SBA 

is now requesting nominations for 

members of this task force. 

DATES: Submit nominations on or before 

5 p.m. EST October 16, 2009 per the 

instructions below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any 

member of the public wishing further 

information regarding this request for 

nominations may contact Jack Bienko, 

via telephone (202) 205–6052, fax (202) 

481–2636, e-mail john.bienko@sba.gov 

or mail U.S. Small Business 

Administration, 409 3rd Street, SW., 6th 

Floor, Washington, DC 20416. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SBA is 

requesting nominations for the Small 

Business Information Security Task 

Force. SBA encourages all qualified 

candidates to apply. Candidates may 

self-nominate or be nominated by 

another source. 

Function of the Task Force 

This task force was established by 

section 507 of Public Law 111–24 to 

assess the information security needs of 

small business concerns, including the 

programs and services currently 

available, and make recommendations 

to SBA as to new programs and services 

which will help small businesses 

address those concerns. Specifically, the 

task force shall: 

1. Identify the information technology 

security needs of small business 

concerns, 

2. Identify and assess the programs 

and services provided by Federal and 

State governments and non-government 

organizations which serve the 

information technology security needs 

of small business concerns, 

3. Make recommendations to SBA on 

how to more effectively serve small 

business information technology 

security needs through the creation of 

new Federal programs and services, 

small business education and training, 

or more effective marketing of existing 

programs, 

4. Make recommendations on how 

SBA can better inform and educate 

small businesses on information 

technology security concerns, including 

use of the Internet, 

5. Assess and recommend whether a 

permanent advisory board should be 

created, 

6. Provide SBA with a comprehensive 

list of Internet sites containing 

appropriate and relevant information on 

small business information technology 

security needs of which SBA should 

link, and 

7. Prepare a final report with 

recommendations for SBA, which will 

be submitted to Congress. 

Qualifications 

From the nominations received, the 

SBA Administrator will appoint a Chair 

and Vice Chair of the task force. The 

Administrator will then work with the 

Chair to appoint up to 13 additional 

members; at least one from each of the 

following categories who will serve as 

representatives of their respective 

constituency: 

1. Subject matter experts, 

2. Users of information technology 

within small business concerns, 

3. Vendors of information 

technologies for small business 

concerns, 

4. Academics with expertise in the 

use of information technologies to 

support business, 

5. Small business trade associations, 

6. Federal, state or local agencies 

engaged in securing cyberspace, and 

7. Information technology training 

providers with expertise on the use of 

information technologies to support 

business. 

Meetings 

The entire task force will meet at least 

twice per year in Washington DC. Other 

meetings may occur via conference call. 

Status 

All members will be considered 

representatives and will not be paid for 

participation however the Agency will 

pay travel and per diem expenses while 

members are attending required 

meetings in Washington, DC. 

Expectations 

All task force members are expected 

to fully participate in the task force and 

come to the twice-yearly meetings in 

Washington DC. 

What To Send 

1. Letter of Nomination: nominees 

should send a letter of self-nomination 

or a letter of nomination from a peer or 

professional organization or society. 

This letter must indicate which category 

the nominee fulfills and highlight 

accomplishments, including studies, 

publications and professional 

accomplishments related to small 

business information technology 

security issues. 

2. Current resume. 

3. Biographical sketch (optional) no 

more than two pages listing areas of 

expertise related to information 

technology security and small business, 

research activities, service on other 

Federal advisory committees and 

professional organizations. 

4. Nomination Form: Nominees must 

complete and sign SBA Form 898 

(available at http://www.sba.gov/nac). 

All nominees are subject to a conflict 

of interest determination by SBA and 

will not be considered eligible until 

such determination is made. 

Nominations must be sent to Jack 

Bienko at the above information. E-mail 

and fax are preferred methods of 

submission. 


CPrice-Sewell on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES