II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4655 

To make improvements to the Main Street Lending Program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 

Mr. PERDUE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To make improvements to the Main Street Lending Program, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Main Street Lending 

5 Improvement Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MAIN STREET LENDING PROGRAM. 

7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 

9 (1) the Main Street Lending Program should 

10 serve as a ‘‘bad bank’’ to hold nonperforming and ilVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Oct 14, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4655.IS S4655

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1 liquid loans during the economic shock triggered by 

2 the COVID–19 pandemic; 

3 (2) the Department of the Treasury and the 

4 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

5 have served as strong guardians of taxpayer monies 

6 and strived above and beyond their mandates in 

7 launching the Main Street Lending Program; 

8 (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Main Street Lending Program has not operated as 

10 envisioned by Congress; 

11 (4) with bankruptcies hitting record highs not 

12 seen since the 2009 financial crisis, the Main Street 

13 Lending Program should serve as a vital lifeline to 

14 stave off a catastrophic wave of bankruptcies by 

15 small- and medium-sized enterprises; 

16 (5) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, 

17 and amortization is not a generally accepted ac18 counting principal measurement and its calculations 

19 can vary from one company to the next; 

20 (6) the prominence of earnings before interest, 

21 taxes, depreciation, and amortization only emerged 

22 in the advent of the leveraged buyout in the 1980s; 

23 and 

24 (7) there are many companies outside of the 

25 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and 


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1 amortization leverage test that can still present 

2 themselves as growing concerns in a non-COVID 

3 economy. 

4 (b) ALTERNATIVE ASSET TEST.—It is the sense of 

5 Congress that, in carrying out the Main Street Lending 

6 Program, the Department of the Treasury and the Board 

7 of Governors of the Federal Reserve System should con8 sider— 

9 (1) using earnings or cash flow metrics as a 

10 metric for eligibility in the facilities of that Program; 

11 and 

12 (2) providing alternative tests for borrowers be13 cause earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, 

14 and amortization— 

15 (A) is not a one size fits all equation; 

16 (B) ignores the cost of assets and working 

17 capital; and 

18 (C) fails to appropriately measure the abil19 ity of an entity to generate cash as opposed to 

20 an operating cash flow test. 

21 (c) BOSTON FED HELPLINE.—The Federal Reserve 

22 Bank of Boston shall, with respect to the operation of the 

23 Main Street Lending Program— 

24 (1) create a lender helpline to address lender25 specific questions; and 


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1 (2) consider additional guidance and informa2 tion with the focus aimed at addressing the concerns 

3 of small and mid-size financial institutions. 

4 (d) EXEMPTIONS FOR LOANS UNDER $5,000,000.— 

5 With respect to any loan, the amount of which is less than 

6 $5,000,000, a financial institution may collect interest on 

7 the entirety of the loan if a participation in the loan is 

8 sold to the special purpose vehicle under the Main Street 

9 Lending Program. 

10 (e) STREAMLINE MAIN STREET LENDER PARTICIPA11 TION PROGRAM.—With respect to the Main Street Lend12 ing Program, for financial institutions with less than 

13 $25,000,000,000 in assets— 

14 (1) the Department of the Treasury and the 

15 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

16 will strive to reduce borrower reporting burdens by 

17 limiting any reporting requirement to at most once 

18 a quarter and reduce the amount of data points they 

19 are required to submit; 

20 (2) the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston shall 

21 verify that the financial institution meets both the 

22 asset test and is a well capitalized institution under 

23 the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 

24 et seq.) and the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

25 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 


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1 (3) the special purpose vehicle under the Pro2 gram shall purchase 99 percent of the interest in a 

3 loan participation originated by the financial institu4 tion under the Program; 

5 (4) mortgage debt shall not be included in the 

6 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and 

7 amortization leverage test; 

8 (5) the financial institution shall collect interest 

9 on the entirety of a loan, a participation in which is 

10 sold under the Program; and 

11 (6) the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston shall 

12 provide— 

13 (A) automatic preapproval for institutions 

14 under the Program for loans up to $5,000,000; 

15 and 

16 (B) that— 

17 (i) the special purpose vehicle under 

18 the Program shall wire 99 percent of the 

19 participation amount to preapproved lend20 ers upon the lender’s uploading of a bor21 rower’s name, W–9, amount, type of Main 

22 Street Loan, and certification of lender’s 

23 receipt of signed loan documents; 

24 (ii) additional borrower and loan in25 formation and uploading of closing docuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Oct 14, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4655.IS S4655

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1 ments in the special purpose vehicle portal 

2 may occur within 5 business days of fund3 ing; and 

4 (iii) a borrower may only receive a 

5 loan originated pursuant to the terms of 

6 this subsection once. 

Æ 


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