This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

26809

Vol. 65, No. 90

Tuesday, May 9, 2000

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service

Meeting of Advisory Committee on

Emerging Markets

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of

section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463), notice

is hereby given that the third meeting of

the Advisory Committee on Emerging

Markets will be held May 17, 2000. The

role of the committee is to provide

information and advice, based upon

knowledge and expertise of the

members, useful to the U.S. Department

of Agriculture (USDA) in implementing

the Emerging Markets Program. The

committee will also advise USDA on

ways to increase the involvement of the

U.S. private sector in cooperative work

with emerging markets in food and rural

business systems and review proposals

submitted to the Program.

DATES: The meeting will be held

Wednesday, May 17, 2000, from 9:30

a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the U.S. Department of Agriculture,

1400 Independence Avenue SW,

Washington, DC 20250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of this meeting is to review and

discuss those proposals the Emerging

Markets Office has received which may

qualify for Emerging Markets Program

funding. The minutes of the meeting

announced in this Notice shall be

available for review. The meeting is

open to the public and members of the

public may provide comments in

writing to Douglas Freeman, Foreign

Agricultural Service, Room 6506 South

Building, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, 14th and Independence

Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250, but

should not make any oral comments at

the meeting unless invited to do so by

the Co-chairpersons.

Signed at Washington, DC, May 3, 2000.

Timothy J. Galvin,

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

[FR Doc. 00–11559 Filed 5–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Notice of Proposed Changes to

Section IV of the Field Office Technical

Guide (FOTG) of the Natural Resources

Conservation Service in Indiana

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS).

ACTION: Notice of availability of

proposed changes in Section IV of the

FOTG of the NRCS in Indiana for review

and comment.

SUMMARY: It is the intention of NRCS in

Indiana to issue two revised

conservation practice standards in

Section IV of the FOTG. The revised

standards are Field Border (Code 386)

and Use Exclusion (Code 472). These

practices may be used in conservation

systems that treat highly erodible land.

DATES: Comments will be received on or

before June 8, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Address all requests and

comments to Jane E. Hardisty, State

Conservationist, Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS), 6013

Lakeside Blvd., Indianapolis, Indiana

46278. Copies of these standards will be

made available upon written or

electronic request. You may submit

electronic requests and comments to

joe.gasperi@in.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane

E. Hardisty, 317–290–3200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

343 of the Federal Agriculture

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996

states that revisions made after

enactment of the law, to NRCS state

technical guides used to carry out

highly erodible land and wetland

provisions of the law, shall be made

available for public review and

comment. For the next 30 days, the

NRCS in Indiana will receive comments

relative to the proposed changes.

Following that period, a determination

will be made by the NRCS in Indiana

regarding disposition of those comments

and a final determination of changes

will be made.

Dated: April 26, 2000.

Jane E. Hardisty,

State Conservationist, Indianapolis, Indiana.

[FR Doc. 00–11572 Filed 5–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Invitation for Applications of Interest

To Sell Intermediary Relending

Program (IRP) Loans Under an

Expanded Pilot—Extension of Time

and Clarification of Issues

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative

Service (RBS), U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: On November 12, 1999 (64 FR

61575), RBS announced an expanded

pilot sale of IRP intermediary loans

made to third parties. The intended

effect of the notice was to solicit

applications of interest from

intermediaries who wished to consider

participation in the Fiscal Year (FY)

2000 loan sale. RBS stated that it would

competitively select and authorize

several intermediaries to sell an

aggregate amount of approximately $50

million of the existing IRP portfolios in

FY 2000 from among those

intermediaries who have advanced at

least 95 percent of IRP funding received

by the intermediary. That

announcement was also intended to

provide notice to potential purchasers

and other parties interested in

structuring the sale of ultimate recipient

notes. This notice restates and clarifies

language in the November 12, 1999,

notice and extends the length of time

available to submit an application, due

date for submission, and date by which

any sale of loans is required to be

complete.

None of the intermediaries which

submitted an application were able to

meet all basic criteria for eligibility.

Several other interested parties

communicated with RBS that, although

they were potentially interested in

participating in the sale, they did not

intend to respond to the invitation due

to the short 45-day deadline for

responses during the December 1999

26810 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 9, 2000 / Notices

holiday season. The Agency is

concerned that many intermediaries

made a basic examination of their

portfolios during the earlier 45-day

period and determined preparation time

was inadequate.

RBS believes that the expanded pilot

sale is necessary to allow the Agency to:

(1) Test whether there is a sufficient

market for a large amount of these loans,

whether sold as whole loans or in some

other structure; and (2) give the Agency

sufficient data to evaluate the

effectiveness and long-term program

impact of allowing such sales.

Therefore, RBS has decided to reopen

consideration for entities to participate.

There is no expectation by the Agency

that, after receiving approval to

participate from RBS, any or all

intermediaries will determine that it is

ultimately in their interest to negotiate

or consummate a sale in the required

time frame. If RBS determines after the

pilot program that sufficient interest

exists, the Agency intends to begin the

formal rule-making process.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of the

applications of interest in the thirdparty sale in the applicable Rural

Development State Office (see

ADDRESSES below) is 4:00 P.M. Eastern

Time on July 10, 2000. Applications

received after that date will not be

considered for participation in the

expanded pilot sale. Any application of

interest already submitted by potential

buyers for those portfolios, and offerors

of other services to buyers or sellers,

shall remain valid and need not be

resubmitted by those parties. However,

parties which submitted applications of

interest may revise or withdraw those

applications if they so choose. New

applications from additional parties will

also be allowed, although an application

only facilitates contact between

intermediaries, service providers, and

purchasers, and is not required for an

entity to either provide services or

purchase loans.

A deadline for completion of any sale

resulting from an intermediary is hereby

established as December 31, 2000, to

allow a timely evaluation of the pilot

sale and permit the start of formal rule

making. None of the basic criteria for

eligibility have been revised from the

November 12, 1999, notice. However,

certain language in the original

invitation has been clarified.

ADDRESSES: Applications to participate

in the expanded pilot sale should be

mailed to the Rural Development State

Office for the State in which the

intermediary is headquartered. Listed

below are the following addresses for

Rural Development State Offices:

Alabama

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Sterling Center, Suite 601, 4121

Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL

36106–3683, (334) 279–3400

Alaska

USDA Rural Development State Office, 800

West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK

99645–6539, (907) 761–7600

Arizona

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3003

North Central Avenue, Suite 900,

Phoenix, AZ 85012–2906, (602) 280–

8700

Arkansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, 700

West Capitol Avenue, Room 3416, Little

Rock, AR 72201–3225, (501) 301–3200

California

USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G

Street, Agency 4169, Davis, CA 95616–

4169, (530) 792–5800

Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office, 655

Parfet Street, Room E–100, Lakewood,

CO 80215, (303) 236–2801

Delaware-Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4607

South DuPont Highway, Camden, DE

19934–9998, (302) 697–4300

Florida/Virgin Islands

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4440

NW. 25th Place, Gainesville, FL 32614–

7010, (352) 338–3400

Georgia

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Stephens Federal Building, 355 E.

Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601–

2768, (706) 546–2162

Hawaii

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Room 311, 154

Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720,

(808) 933–8380

Idaho

USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173

West Barnes Drive, Suite A1, Boise, ID

83709, (208) 378–5600

Illinois

USDA Rural Development State Office, Illini

Plaza, Suite 103, 1817 South Neil Street,

Champaign, IL 61820, (217) 398–5235

Indiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975

Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN

46278, (317) 290–3100

Iowa

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Room 873, 210 Walnut

Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284–

4663

Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office,

1200 SW. Executive Drive, Topeka, KS

66615, (785) 271–2701

Kentucky

USDA Rural Development State Office, 771

Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington,

KY 40503, (606) 224–7300

Louisiana

USDA Rural Development State Office,

3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA

71302, (318) 473–7920

Maine

USDA Rural Development State Office, 444

Stillwater Avenue, Suite 2, Bangor, ME

04402–0405, (207) 990–9106

Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut

USDA Rural Development State Office, 451

West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, (413)

253–4300

Michigan

USDA Rural Development State Office,

3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East

Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324–5100

Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office, 410

AgriBank Building 375 Jackson Street,

St. Paul, MN 55101–1853, (651) 602–

7800

Mississippi

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Suite 831 100 West

Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601)

965–4316

Missouri

USDA Rural Development State Office, 601

Business Loop 70 West, Parkade Center,

Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573)

876–0976

Montana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 900

Technology Blvd., Unit 1, Suite B,

Bozeman, MT 59715, (406) 585–2580

Nebraska

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Room 152, 100

Centennial Mall N, Lincoln, NE 68508,

(402) 437–5551

Nevada

USDA Rural Development State Office,

1390 South Curry Street, Carson City, NV

89703–9910, (775) 887–1222

New Jersey

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Tarnsfield Plaza, Suite 22, 790 Woodlane

Road, Mt. Holly, NJ 08060, (609) 265–

3600

New Mexico

USDA Rural Development State Office,

6200 Jefferson Street, NE., Room 255,

Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761–4950

New York

USDA Rural Development State Office, The

Galleries of Syracuse 441 South Salina

Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202–

2541, (315) 477–6400

North Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office,

4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC

27609, (919) 873–2000

North Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Room 208 220 East

Rosser, Bismarck, ND 58502–1737, (701)

530–2037

Ohio

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Room 507, 200 North

High Street, Columbus, OH 43215–2477,

(614) 255–2500

Oklahoma

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100

USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 74074–

2654, (405) 742–1000

Oregon

USDA Rural Development State Office, 101

SW Main Street, Suite 1410, Portland,

OR 97204–3222, (503) 414–3300

Pennsylvania

USDA Rural Development State Office,

One Credit Union Place, Suite 330,

Harrisburg, PA 17110–2996, (717) 237–

2299

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 9, 2000 / Notices 26811

Puerto Rico

USDA Rural Development State Office,

New San Juan Office Building, Room

501,159 Carlos E. Chardon Street, Hato

Rey, PR 00918–5481, (787) 766–5095

South Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835

Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia,

SC 29201, (803) 765–5163

South Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Room 210, 200 4th

Street, SW. Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352–

1100

Tennessee

USDA Rural Development State Office,

3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300,

Nashville, TN 37203–1084, (615) 783–

1300

Texas

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South

Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742–

9700

Utah,

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125

South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake

City, UT 84147–0350, (801) 524–4320

Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office,

City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street,

Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828–6000

Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606 Santa

Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804)

287–1550

Washington

USDA Rural Development State Office,

1835 Black Lake Boulevard, SW., Suite

B, Olympia, WA 98512–5715, (360) 704–

7740

West Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office,

Federal Building, 75 High Street, Room

320, Morgantown, WV 26505–7500,

(304) 284–4860

Wisconsin

USDA Rural Development State Office,

4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens Point, WI

54481, (715) 345–7600

Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100

East B, Federal Building, Room 1005,

Casper, WY 82602, (307) 261–6300

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David W. Lewis, Rural BusinessCooperative Service, USDA, Room

6858–S, Mail Stop 3224, South

Agriculture Building, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–3224,

Telephone (202) 690–0797.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: IRP

regulations published in 7 CFR part

4274, subpart D, and section 1323 of the

Food and Security Act of 1985 (Public

Law 99–198) (7 U.S.C. 1932 note), as

amended by Public Law 99–425,

authorized the Secretary to make loans

to entities for the purposes and subject

to the terms and conditions specified in

the first, second, and last sentences of

section 623(a) of the Community

Economic Development Act of 1981 (42

U.S.C. 9812(a)). The intermediary loans

previously approved and administered

by the U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services under 45 CFR part

1076, which were transferred to the

USDA under the provisions of section

1323 of the Food Security Act of 1985,

are not eligible for participation in the

pilot sale.

The Agency initiated a pilot program,

through a Memorandum of

Understanding with the Colorado

Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA)

in May 1997 to allow CHFA to sell its

ultimate recipient portfolio on the

secondary market. CHFA was created to

address the critical funding needs of

community-based development lenders

in Colorado. In consultation with the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) and the U.S. Department of the

Treasury, RBS has decided to expand

the pilot sale, on a limited basis, in

order to gather additional information

and experience for consideration in

establishing a permanent sales program.

Selected applicants will be posted on

the Agency web site and notified in

writing. The benefit of this loan sale to

the intermediary will be an increase in

portfolio liquidity, allowing the

intermediary to re-loan money back into

the community. The Agency advances

loans to eligible intermediaries that

subsequently re-loan to eligible

applicants, including individuals,

public or private organizations, or other

legal entities with authority to incur

debt and carry out the purpose of the

loan. During the application process for

this pilot sale, an intermediary will

express interest in selling its seasoned

portfolio. The initial screening of the

intermediaries and their portfolios will

be the responsibility of the Rural

Development State Offices. State Offices

will make recommendations to the

National Office, and the National Office

will evaluate the applications of

interest, along with State Office

recommendations, and make final

selections for loan sales.

RBS will maintain lists of

intermediaries expressing interest in

offering their portfolios for sale,

potential buyers for those portfolios,

and offerors of other services to buyers

or sellers, e.g., financial advisors.

However, only intermediaries selected

through the invitation of applications of

interest process will be authorized to

sell third-party loans. Intermediary

applications of interest must include: (1)

A history of the intermediary; (2) its

latest audited financial statement; (3)

summary data on each loan in the

portfolio including original and current

amount, interest rate, terms, loan

maturities, and loan performance; (4)

delinquency rate on all loans in its

portfolio; (5) reserves for loan payments;

(6) the number of jobs created or saved;

(7) the Standard Industrial Code for

each loan recipient; (8) write-off of bad

debts history; (9) a proposal that

illustrates how the sale of the

intermediary’s portfolio supports Rural

Development Mission Area target

objectives, i.e., rural areas suffering

fundamental, physical and economic

stress, persistent poverty, out-migration,

or as identified in the Rural

Development State Strategic Plan; (10)

non-federal fund leveraging of past or

potential loans; and (11) the

documentation of the need for added

capital and unmet loan demand. It is

important that the performance history

of the overall portfolio, including any

portion not proposed for sale, be fully

detailed, including the volume and

frequency of any delinquencies or

default. It is equally important that

intermediaries expedite the Agency

review of their application of interest by

responding to each of the questions in

this notice in a format which allows a

rapid evaluation of their response and

minimizes the possibility that the

reviewer will misunderstand the

information provided.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Agency has

received emergency approval and

clearance by OMB for the reporting and

record keeping requirements contained

in this Notice. The OMB control number

for this information collection is 0570–

0036.

Criteria for Participation in the

Ultimate Recipient Portfolio Sale

The expansion of the pilot sale will be

conducted on a competitive basis and

under criteria set by RBS. The following

criteria must be met (with adequate

documentation provided) to be

considered under this pilot sale.

1. Intermediaries must express

interest in selling their entire ultimate

recipient portfolio classified as seasoned

loans (loans outstanding for at least 12

months).

The following qualifications also

apply:

a. The ultimate recipient loans to be

sold must be current according to their

promissory notes and other agreements.

b. The current 30-day or more

delinquency rate for the entire IRP

portfolio, including the portion not

proposed to be offered for sale, must not

26812 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 9, 2000 / Notices

exceed 3 percent of the outstanding loan

balance.

c. In the aggregate, loans will be sold

at ‘‘hold’’ or ‘‘market’’ value, which are

synonymous terms.

d. Notes will be sold to the purchasers

without recourse to the intermediary.

e. Annual portfolio writeoffs by the

intermediary of its loans will not exceed

an average of 1 percent of the

outstanding loan balances over the past

3 years in the same portfolio, measured

as the percentage of outstanding loan

balances of the total seasoned portfolio.

Intermediary applications for the pilot

program will be evaluated on the RBS

point scoring system on a nationwide

basis.

f. All due diligence expenses in

connection with the sale will be paid by

the purchaser and reflected in any sales

contract entered into between

intermediary and purchaser.

g. Due diligence expenses will only be

authorized by the Agency to be paid if

the intermediary portfolio is selected for

the loan sale. The intermediary will be

released from any subsequent liability

in regard to the sale of notes sold as

non-recourse loans. The due diligence

process does not need to be complete at

the time the application of interest is

filed.

h. Intermediaries agree to use sale

proceeds only to make new loans under

7 CFR part 4274, subpart D, except, as

shown below, the intermediary may use

sale proceeds to continue to pay its debt

service to RBS.

i. The sales proceeds will be tracked

separately and will be deposited into

the intermediary’s revolving loan fund,

recapitalizing the fund for the purpose

of making new loans in accordance with

the eligible purposes outlined in the

current Agency regulations, work plan,

and loan agreements.

j. Any sale of ultimate recipient loans

must be completed by December 31,

2000.

2. Intermediaries, who have advanced

at least 95 percent of the aggregate total

funds loaned them by RBS under this

program and who meet the stated

criteria, are eligible to apply for

participation in this expanded pilot.

The intermediary must provide

documentation for the unmet demand

for third-party loans and its ability to relend all of the proceeds to eligible

projects within 3 years from the date of

the loan sale before it will be considered

for participation in this expanded pilot.

This documentation must include a list

of loans turned down for lack of funds,

the aggregate number and amount of

viable loans considered but not made,

and the policies under which the

intermediary establishes rates and terms

for the new loans to be made. [As one

illustration, interest rate policy might be

loans that will be at: (a) 2 percent

interest if secured by a standby letter of

credit from a financial institution; and

(b) 5 percent if secured by other

collateral. Another illustration might be

to make loans at some rate in relation to

Wall Street Journal Prime. Similarly, it

is expected that the intermediary has

some policy for setting maturities and

balloon structures.] The intermediary

may provide a survey indicating

demand for additional funds. The

intermediary must provide

documentation evidencing project cost

leveraging, reserves for losses, and loans

made in Rural Development mission

areas, targeted areas, and population.

Refer to State Offices for details on

target areas. The intermediary must

reloan 95 percent of the replenished

capital within the 3-year period

following loan sale closing or at the end

of the 3-year period must immediately

make extra principal repayments on its

IRP loans in the full amount of the

undisbursed portion as required by

current IRP regulations. Intermediaries

selected to participate in the expanded

third-party sale must maintain their IRP

loans with the Agency in a current

status. There will be no moratorium or

deferment of payments granted on the

loan to the intermediary from RBS to

advance the new funds, and proceeds

from the sale can be used for Agency

debt service. Intermediaries must have

sufficient alternative sources of funds to

ensure IRP loan repayment and pay

their administrative costs.

Intermediaries permitted to sell their

loan portfolios will be ineligible to

apply for further IRP loans from RBS

unless 95 percent of funds received

from the sale have been advanced as

loans. Upon selection of the IRP

application for the loan sale, all pending

IRP applications for funding for those

applicants selected from the annual

Agency appropriation cycle will be held

in suspense. If the intermediary is

unable to sell its loans under terms

approved by RBS, the suspended IRP

applications for funding will be

reactivated for further funding

consideration under the available

Agency appropriation.

3. If there is Community

Reinvestment Act credit associated with

the loans, the amount of such credit is

to be permanently noted, as it may

influence the value to a final purchaser.

RBS considers any financial

contribution by the intermediary, other

than meeting its own expenses

associated with the sale, as potentially

weakening the financial strength of the

intermediary to meet its long-term

obligation to RBS. Intermediary affiliate

resources or contributions from private

sources, used in ‘‘hold’’ or ‘‘market’’

value sale of the ultimate recipient

portfolio, will not be either a debt or a

contingent liability of the intermediary

and will be closely scrutinized by the

Agency to assure the sale does not

weaken the intermediary financially.

Only intermediaries selected for the

loan sale are authorized to sell their

ultimate recipient portfolio and, even if

selected by RBS, they are under no

obligation to ultimately consummate a

sale.

4. RBS may authorize the nonrecourse sale of less than a total

portfolio if, in RBS’s opinion, a partial

sale of the portfolio is financially sound

and benefits program objectives. The

sale may be structured as a sale of whole

loans or as any related structure.

5. The intermediary will advertise the

sale of its loans in media with

significant national distribution, to

attract the greatest possible interest from

a diverse client base. Advertising costs

may be shared on a cooperative basis

with other participating intermediaries

to assist in defraying advertising

expenses. Such cost will be the

responsibility of the intermediary. It is

the intent of RBS to develop a

coordinated approach to soliciting

interest from eligible intermediaries and

potential purchasers of the portfolio to

ensure an equitable opportunity to

participate and to obtain the best prices

for the portfolios.

6. Intermediaries, as authorized by the

Agency, may retain or offer to retain

servicing rights to their portfolio loans

sold in the pilot loan sale. In the event

the intermediary retains servicing rights,

the intermediary shall analyze the

portfolio it manages, the staffing and

processing, it maintains to make and

service loans in each portfolio, and the

steps it expects to take to maintain

adequate staffing to service and make

loans and present such analysis to RBS,

in writing, as part of its application. If

selected under the pilot sale, the

intermediary will be required to obtain

certification, from the purchaser, that

the sale of servicing will not result in an

acceleration of ultimate recipient loans

and that appropriate and adequate

servicing will continue following the

loan sale.

7. Recapitalized funds realized from

the loan sale will be reloaned for

eligible purposes in accordance with

current IRP regulations found at 7 CFR

part 4274, subpart D, and 7 CFR part

1951, subpart R; the approved work

plan; and the same processing

procedure as third-party loans made

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 9, 2000 / Notices 26813

from Agency (Federal) funds.

Recapitalized funds resulting from the

sale, even though not Agency IRP loan

funds, will be administered in

accordance with current regulations and

the approved work plan. The Agency

will exercise the same oversight

responsibilities as required for projects

receiving IRP Federal funds directly

from the Agency. These responsibilities

include Agency review of individual

third-party loans prior to approval,

conduct of environmental reviews, and

the requirement that 25 percent of the

loan amount for all third-party loans be

financed from other sources until funds

have revolved. Proceeds from the sale

shall only be used for recapitalization of

the IRP revolving fund and will not be

co-mingled with funds from other

programs until funds have revolved. As

previously stated, funds may be used for

servicing the intermediary’s debt with

RBS.

8. All reserves and other cash in the

IRP revolving fund not immediately

needed, for loans to ultimate recipients

or other authorized uses, will be

deposited in Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation (FDIC)-insured accounts in

banks or other financial institutions.

Such accounts will be fully covered by

FDIC insurance or fully collateralized

with U.S. Government obligations and

must be interest bearing. Any interest

earned thereon remains a part of the IRP

revolving fund.

IRP Ranking Criteria

Priority points are determined as

follows:

(MAXIMUM NUMBER OF POINTS

INCLUDING ADMINISTRATOR

PRIORITY POINTS: 110)

1. Percent of Portfolio Loaned—

Maximum Points: 10.

a. Intermediary that has loaned out all

of the IRP Federal funds (10 points).

b. Intermediary that has loaned out

between 97–99 percent of the IRP

Federal funds (8 points).

c. Intermediary that has loaned out 95

up to 97 percent of the IRP Federal

funds (5 points).

2. Delinquencies—Maximum Points:

10.

a. Intermediary that has no ultimate

recipient delinquency in its portfolio

(10 points).

b. Intermediary that has 1 percent or

less delinquencies in its portfolio based

on outstanding loan balances (8 points).

c. Intermediary that has more than 1

percent but less than 2 percent

delinquencies in its portfolio based on

outstanding loan balances (5 points).

d. Intermediary that has between 2

percent up to and including 3 percent

portfolio delinquency rate inclusive on

outstanding loan balances (3 points).

3. Writeoffs of Bad Loans—Maximum

Points: 10.

a. Intermediary that has no writeoffs

of ultimate recipient loans over the past

3 fiscal years (10 points).

b. Intermediary that has written off 1

percent or less of the loan balances of

its ultimate recipient loans over the past

3 fiscal years (8 points).

4. Maturity of Loans—Maximum

Points: 10.

a. Intermediary that has an average

ultimate recipient loan portfolio

maturity of 10 years or more (10 points).

b. Intermediary that has an average

ultimate recipient loan portfolio

maturity of at least 7 but less than 10

years (8 points).

c. Intermediary that has an average

ultimate recipient loan portfolio

maturity of at least 5 but less than 7

years (5 points).

d. Intermediary that has an average

ultimate recipient loan portfolio with

maturity of at least 3 but less than 5

years (3 points).

e. Intermediary that has an average

ultimate recipient loan portfolio

maturity of at least 1 but less than 3

years (1 point).

5. Leverage: Intermediary that has

Obtained Non-Federal Loan or Grant

Funds to Pay a Portion of the Cost of the

Ultimate Recipient Projects—Maximum

Points: 10.

a. Fifty percent or more of the total

project cost (10 points).

b. At least 25 percent but less than 50

percent of the total project cost (8

points).

c. At least 10 percent but less than 25

percent of the total project cost (5

points).

6. Rural Area—Maximum Points: 10.

a. Intermediary that has made two or

more ultimate recipient loans or made

25 percent of the total loans, whichever

is the greater, to ultimate recipients in

unincorporated areas, and cities or

towns with populations of 10,000 or less

based on 1990 census data (10 points).

b. Intermediary that has made

ultimate recipient loans in

unincorporated areas, and cities or

towns with a population of more than

10,000, up to and including 20,000,

based on 1990 census data (5 points).

7. Reserves for Loan Payments—

Maximum Points: 10. Intermediary that

has established a cash reserve to make

RBS loan payments:

a. Greater than 21 months (10 points).

b. Greater than 18 months but not

exceeding 21 months (8 points).

c. Greater than 15 months but not

exceeding 18 months (5 points).

d. Any reserve level equal to or

greater than 12 months but not

exceeding 15 months (3 points).

8. Community Reinvestment Act

Requirements—Maximum Points: 10.

Intermediary’s ultimate recipient

loans that meet Community

Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements

(10 points). The intermediary must

determine, based on applicant

information, which loans may qualify as

Community Development Investments

under the provisions of the CRA

requirements. RBS is interested in how

the intermediary made this

determination and quantified the

potential credits. RBS intends to assure

that the intermediary obtains the

maximum value from its portfolio and

does not weaken its financial structure,

as some potential purchasers may be

willing to pay a premium for CRA

credits of specific types in specific

states. If the intermediary calls this to

the attention of potential purchasers, a

higher price may result. The Agency

will rely on the applicant’s submission

of CRA data to assess the credibility of

the applicant’s submission.

a. Greater than 50 percent of portfolio

principal meets CRA requirements (10

points).

b. Greater than 25 percent but not

exceeding 50 percent of portfolio

principal (8 points).

c. Greater than 10 percent but not

exceeding 25 percent of portfolio

principal (5 points).

d. Any dollar value greater than $0

but not exceeding 10 percent of

portfolio principal (3 points).

9. Loans Sold at Par Value—

Maximum Points: 5.

A par sale is defined as a sale in the

aggregate which results in the receipt of

sufficient funds from the sale of all

principal and interest outstanding on

the loans sold to third parties, which,

together with funds already revolved,

will allow the intermediary to meet its

loan obligation to RBS. Note, this is not

necessarily a sale which nominally sells

each of the individual loans at or above

the face value of the loan. Face value is

defined as the note balance of an

individual loan at the time of

assessment.

10. Presidential/Administration

Priority Areas: Empowerment Zones/

Enterprise Communities, Pacific

Northwest/Alaskan Initiative, Rural

Development Mission Area, Targeted

Areas and Population—Maximum

Points: 15.

a. Intermediary that has loaned

between 50 and 75 percent of its IRP

funds in these targeted area populations

(15 points).

26814 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 9, 2000 / Notices

b. Intermediary that has loaned

between 25 up to 50 percent in these

targeted area populations (10 points).

c. Intermediary that has loaned less

than 25 percent of its IRP funds in

targeted area populations (5 points).

11. Administrator’s Priority Points—

Maximum Points: 10. For purposes of

evaluation of the proposals by

intermediaries, this factor is based on

the following sub-elements, each with a

maximum number of points, which, in

the aggregate, may reach up to a

maximum of 10 points which the RBS

Administrator may assign for proposals

which present superior approaches to

the stated criteria above, or which will

lead to better geographic balance of

intermediary loans, which would be

included in the sale.

a. Geographic balance of the areas

served by the intermediaries selected to

participate in the sale (Maximum = 6

points).

b. Support of Rural Development

Objectives: Does the proposal illustrate

how the sale of the intermediary’s

portfolio supports Rural Development

Mission Area target objectives, i.e.,

Presidential or administration priority

areas, rural areas suffering fundamental,

physical and economic stress, persistent

poverty, out migration, or as identified

in the Rural Development State Strategic

Plan? What percentage of RBS funds to

this intermediary have gone into these

targeted areas or to targeted

populations? An exceptional effort by

the intermediary to successfully lend

over 75 percent in targeted areas in their

present portfolio demonstrates their

ability to do the same with revolved

funds (Maximum = 4 points).

Additional Application Requirements

The intermediary’s application must

also include the following:

1. Intermediary Name, Street Address

(or other postal delivery information),

Contact Person, Telephone and Fax

Numbers, appropriate E-Mail addresses

for making contact, and, if the entity has

a web site, the Uniform Resource

Locator (URL) address for that site.

2. History of the Intermediary.

3. Modified Work Plan, Detailing

Mission or Goals, Outreach Service

Plan.

4. Summarize Each Ultimate

Recipient Loan in the Format Outlined

in Form RD 1951–4:

a. Name and address of ultimate

recipient.

b. Type of business.

c. Use of loan funds.

d. Original amount of loan.

e. Date of loan.

f. Unpaid balance.

g. Interest rate.

h. Terms of loan/date of final

payment.

i. Collateral, including lien position.

j. Loan status.

k. Number of consecutive loan

payments ultimate recipient has made

in accordance with the promissory note.

l. Standard Industrial Code on the

ultimate recipient loan.

5. Summarize the Intermediary

Ultimate Recipient Portfolio.

a. Range and average interest rates.

b. Range and average repayment term.

c. Percent of loans made for which

intermediary received first lien.

d. Percent of loans made with real

estate collateral.

e. Percent of loans made with

machinery and equipment collateral.

f. Percent of outstanding loan

balances with current repayment status

on report date.

g. Percent of loan balances written off.

h. Percent of loans made with one or

more payments late by 30 days or more.

i. Percent of loans made for which

terms have been renegotiated.

j. Use of leverage on each ultimate

recipient loan.

k. Population where ultimate

recipient loans were made.

l. Identify loans in mission area

targeted areas.

Selections Announcement

The Agency will announce on its

Internet web site, 45 days after the end

of the solicitation period, the

intermediaries selected to participate in

the expanded pilot sale, potential

purchasers, and third parties interested

in structuring the sale of ultimate

recipient notes. The Business Programs

web site is located at

www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/busp/

bpdir.htm. Click on ‘‘IRP 3rd Party

Sale.’’ Click on ‘‘application’’ in

paragraph four to receive a copy of the

invitation for application and

subsequent updates on this loan sale via

the Internet (e-mail and web site hot

links included). The information will

provide updated lists of interested

intermediaries, third-party advisors, and

third-party purchasers. RBS employees

will be notified of loan sale selections

via memorandum and the Agency

Intranet. All intermediaries making an

application of interest under the pilot

program will also be notified, in writing,

of their selection or non-selection and of

third-party purchaser and financial

advisor interest. To be included in the

published listings, interested third

parties (purchasers and advisors) must

provide the following information:

Third-Party Purchaser Requirements

Third-party purchasers will provide

the company name, address, contact

person, telephone and fax numbers, email address, and URL address (web

site). The expression of interest must be

in writing. A written letter

accompanying the company history,

expertise, examples, and references

from the purchasers is required and will

be submitted to the National Office,

Attention: David Lewis, Loan Specialist,

Business Programs Servicing Division,

Rural Business-Cooperative Service,

Rural Development, USDA, Stop 3224,

1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–3224.

Advisors—Structuring the Sale

Advisors will provide the company

name, address, contact person,

telephone and fax numbers, e-mail

address, and URL address (web site).

The expression of interest must be in

writing. A written letter accompanying

the company history, expertise,

examples, and references from the

advisors is required and will be

submitted to the National Office,

Attention: David Lewis, Loan Specialist,

Business Programs Servicing Division,

Rural Business-Cooperative Service,

Rural Development, USDA, Stop 3224,

1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–3224.

Other Matters

1. Environmental Finding. A Finding

of No Significant Impact, with respect to

the environment, has been made by the

Agency in accordance with RBS

regulations at 7 CFR part 1940, subpart

G, or its successor regulation.

2. Civil Rights Impact Analysis. It is

the policy within the Rural

Development mission area to ensure

that the consequences of any proposed

project approval do not negatively or

disproportionately affect program

beneficiaries by virtue of race, color,

sex, national origin, religion, age,

disability, sexual orientation, and

marital or familial status, or because all

or part of an individual’s income is

derived from any public assistance

program. To ensure that any proposal

under this demonstration program

complies with these objectives, the RBS

approval official will complete Form RD

2006–38, ‘‘Civil Rights Impact Analysis

Certification.’’

3. Executive Order 13132, dated

August 4, 1999, Federalism. The Agency

has determined that the policies and

procedures contained in this Notice will

not have substantial direct effects on

States or their political subdivisions, or

the relationship between the Federal

Government and the States, or on the

distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government. As a result, the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 9, 2000 / Notices 26815

Notice is not subject to review under the

Order.

4. Prohibition Against Advance

Information on Funding Decisions. RBS

employees involved in the review of

applications and in the making of

funding decisions are restricted from

providing advance information to any

person (other than an authorized

employee of RBS) concerning funding

decisions, or from otherwise giving any

applicant an unfair competitive

advantage.

Dated: May 2, 2000.

Jill Long Thompson,

Under Secretary, Rural Development.

[FR Doc. 00–11508 Filed 5–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 042600A]

International Whaling Commission;

Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: NOAA makes use of a public

Interagency Committee to assist in

preparing for meetings of the

International Whaling Commission

(IWC). This notice defines guidelines for

participating on the Committee and

provides a tentative schedule of

meetings and of important dates.

DATES: The May 17, 2000, Interagency

Meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for

tentative 2000 meeting schedules.

ADDRESSES: The May 17, 2000, meeting

will be held in Room B841–B, Herbert

C. Hoover Building, Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution

Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cathy Campbell, (202) 482–2652.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of the May 17, 2000,

Interagency Committee meeting is to

review recent events relating to the IWC

and to discuss the draft agenda and U.S.

positions for the 2000 IWC annual

meeting.

The Secretary of Commerce is charged

with the responsibility of discharging

the obligations of the United States

under the International Convention for

the Regulation of Whaling, 1946. This

authority has been delegated to the

Under Secretary for Oceans and

Atmosphere. The U.S. Commissioner to

the IWC has primary responsibility for

the preparation and negotiation of U.S.

positions on international issues

concerning whaling and for all matters

involving the IWC. He is staffed by the

Department of Commerce and assisted

by the Department of State, the

Department of the Interior, the Marine

Mammal Commission, and by other

interested agencies.

Each year, NOAA conducts meetings

and other activities to prepare for the

annual meeting of the IWC. The major

purpose of the preparatory meetings is

to provide input in the development of

policy by individuals and nongovernmental organizations interested

in whale conservation. NOAA believes

that this participation is important for

the effective development and

implementation of U.S. policy

concerning whaling. Any person with

an identifiable interest in United States

whale conservation policy may

participate in the meetings, but NOAA

reserves the authority to inquire about

the interest of any person who appears

at a meeting and to determine the

appropriateness of that person’s

participation. Foreign nationals and

persons who represent foreign

governments may not attend. These

stringent measures are necessary to

promote the candid exchange of

information and to establish the

necessary basis for the relatively open

process of preparing for IWC meetings

that characterizes current practices.

Tentative Meeting Schedule

The tentative schedule of additional

meetings and deadlines, including those

of the IWC, during 2000 follows.

Specific locations and times will be

published in the Federal Register.

May 17, 2000 (Rm B841–B, Herbert C.

Hoover Building, Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.):

Interagency Committee meeting to

review recent events relating to the IWC

and to discuss the draft agenda and U.S.

positions for the 2000 IWC annual

meeting.

June 5, 2000 (Rm B841–A, Herbert C.

Hoover Building, Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.):

Interagency Committee meeting to

review recent events relating to the IWC

and to review U.S. positions for the

2000 IWC annual meeting.

June 12–13, 2000 (Adelaide,

Australia): IWC Scientific Committee

Working Groups and Sub-committees.

June 14–26, 2000 (Adelaide,

Australia): IWC Scientific Committee.

June 28–July 1, 2000 (Adelaide,

Australia): IWC Commission

Committees, Sub-committees and

Working Groups.

July 3–6, 2000 (Adelaide, Australia):

IWC 52nd Annual Meeting.

Special Accommodations

Department of Commerce meetings

are physically accessible to people with

disabilities. Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Cathy Campbell

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT)

at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: April 27, 2000.

Don Knowles,

Director, Office Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–11550 Filed 5–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING

COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Notice of Intent To Renew

Collection 3038–0031, Procurement

Contracts

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures

Trading Commission (CFTC) is

announcing an opportunity for public

comment on the proposed collection of

certain information by the agency.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,

Federal agencies are required to publish

notice in the Federal Register

concerning each proposed collection of

information, including each proposed

extension of an existing collection of

information, and to allow 60 days for

public comment in response to the

notice. This notice solicits comments on

requirements relating to procurement

activities.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before July 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

Steven A. Grossman, Office of Financial

Management, U.S. Commodity Futures

Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street

NW, Washington, DC 20581.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven A. Grossman, (202) 418–5192;

FAX: (202) 418–5529; email:

sgrossman@cftc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the

PRA, Federal agencies must obtain

approval from the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for each collection of