47958 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 198 / Monday, October 16, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

must provide the written notice again 

no later than 45 days after the payment 

due date for which the borrower 

remains delinquent or 190 days after the 

provision of the prior written notice, 

whichever is later. 

Dated: October 2, 2017. 

Richard Cordray, 

Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21912 Filed 10–13–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 120 

Express Bridge Loan Pilot Program; 

Modification of Lending Criteria 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Notification of Express Bridge 

Loan Pilot Program and impact on 

regulatory provision. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA) announces SBA’s 

Express Bridge Loan Pilot Program 

(Express Bridge Pilot), as described in 

this document, and its impact on an 

Agency regulation relating to loan 

underwriting for loans made under the 

Express Bridge Pilot. This pilot will 

provide expedited guaranteed bridge 

loan financing for disaster-related 

purposes to small businesses located in 

communities impacted by a 

Presidentially-declared disaster, while 

those small businesses apply for and 

await long-term financing (including 

through SBA’s direct disaster loan 

program, if eligible). The modification 

of the lending criteria will minimize the 

burden on businesses applying for loans 

through the Express Bridge Pilot and 

provide an incentive for SBA Express 

lenders to participate in the pilot. 

DATES: The Express Bridge Pilot, 

including the modification of lending 

criteria under 13 CFR 120.150, will be 

available from October 16, 2017, 

through September 30, 2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dianna Seaborn, Director, Office of 

Financial Assistance, U.S. Small 

Business Administration, 409 Third 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20416; 

Telephone (202) 205–3645; email 

address: dianna.seaborn@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to its authority under the Small 

Business Act, SBA provides assistance 

to small businesses located in the 

communities affected by Presidentiallydeclared disasters. The Agency has 

announced an initiative called the 

Express Bridge Pilot, which is designed 

to supplement the Agency’s disaster 

response capabilities. The Express 

Bridge Pilot will authorize the Agency’s 

7(a) Lenders with SBA Express lending 

authority to deliver expedited SBAguaranteed financing on an emergency 

basis for disaster-related purposes to 

small businesses located in these 

communities while the businesses apply 

for and await long-term financing 

(including through SBA’s direct disaster 

loan program, if eligible). 

The Express Bridge Pilot will apply 

the policies and procedures in place for 

the Agency’s SBA Express program, 

except as outlined in this document, 

and include the following: 

(1) The maximum loan amount under 

the pilot is $25,000 and the loans will 

carry a 50 percent guaranty from the 

Agency. 

(2) Express Bridge Pilot loans in a 

particular disaster area can only be 

made by SBA Express lenders that were 

participants in the SBA Express 

program as of the date of the applicable 

disaster. 

(3) Eligible small businesses are those 

that were located, as of the date of the 

applicable disaster, in the counties that 

have been Presidentially-declared as 

disaster areas, plus any contiguous 

counties. 

(4) SBA Express lenders may make 

loans under the Express Bridge Pilot 

only to eligible small businesses that 

had an existing banking relationship 

with the SBA Express lender as of the 

date of the applicable disaster. A 

relationship with any of the SBA 

Express lender’s affiliates will not 

satisfy this requirement. 

(5) SBA Express lenders must certify 

to SBA, for each Express Bridge Pilot 

loan, that the loan funds will be used to 

support the survival and/or reopening of 

the small business within the affected 

counties. 

(6) The maximum maturity for an 

Express Bridge Pilot loan is seven years. 

The SBA Express lender may require a 

borrower to pay down or pay off the 

Express Bridge Pilot loan if the borrower 

is approved for long-term disaster 

financing (including an SBA direct 

disaster loan) that allows proceeds to be 

used for Express Bridge Pilot loan 

reimbursement. 

(7) Express Bridge Pilot loans cannot 

be sold in SBA’s secondary market. 

Express Bridge Pilot loans are intended 

to be interim loans, thus SBA has 

determined pursuant to 13 CFR 

120.612(a)(3) that the sale of such loans 

in SBA’s secondary market would not 

be conducive to the successful operation 

of the secondary market program. 

(8) Loans under the Express Bridge 

Pilot in a particular disaster area can 

only be made up to six months after the 

date of the applicable Presidential 

disaster declaration. 

(9) The Express Bridge Pilot will be 

available for use starting October 16, 

2017, and will expire on September 30, 

2020. Express Bridge Pilot loans must be 

approved on or before such date, as 

evidenced by the issuance of an SBA 

loan number. 

To maximize the effectiveness of the 

Express Bridge Pilot, SBA is modifying 

an Agency regulation (13 CFR 120.150) 

that applies to loans made in the 7(a) 

Business Loan Program. (SBA uses the 

term ‘‘modify’’ as contemplated under 

13 CFR 120.3.) This modification will 

also minimize the burdens on the 

businesses applying for loans through 

the Express Bridge Pilot and expand the 

opportunities for SBA Express lenders 

to participate in the pilot. 

Under § 120.150 of SBA’s regulations, 

a small business applicant must be 

creditworthy and loans must be so 

sound as to reasonably assure 

repayment. In making this 

determination, character, reputation, 

credit history of the applicant and 

guarantors, past earnings, projected cash 

flow, and future prospects, among other 

things, must be considered. Currently, 

SBA Express lenders are authorized to 

make the credit decision using credit 

analysis processes and procedures 

(which may include credit scoring) that 

are consistent with those used for their 

similarly-sized non-SBA guaranteed 

commercial loans. 

In order to streamline the loan 

underwriting process for the Express 

Bridge Pilot, SBA is modifying the 

requirements of 13 CFR 120.150 to 

allow SBA Express lenders to 

underwrite Express Bridge Pilot loans 

by considering only the following: 

(1) A minimum acceptable credit 

score of 130 for the applicant issued by 

E-Tran upon submission of the loan 

application for screening; 

(2) a personal credit score for each 

guarantor; and 

(3) Lender must obtain a signed IRS 

Form 4506–T and an IRS tax transcript. 

For businesses in operation prior to the 

disaster but not long enough to have 

been required to file a tax return, Lender 

must provide an alternative to verify 

existence of the business. 

The screening credit score is a FICO®

Small Business Scoring ServiceSM

Score. SBA may adjust the minimum 

acceptable credit score up or down from 

time to time during the pilot, and will 

post any such adjusted score on its Web 

site at www.sba.gov/for-lenders. 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 198 / Monday, October 16, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 47959 

The modification of this regulation 

will allow SBA Express lenders to 

expedite the processing of these small 

guaranteed loans in order to provide 

immediate cash to assist the small 

business with rebuilding and continuing 

or restarting its operations while 

awaiting long-term disaster financing. 

Because an Express Bridge Pilot loan 

applicant must have had an existing 

banking relationship with the SBA 

Express lender, SBA expects this will 

help mitigate the risk associated with 

the modification of 13 CFR 120.150. 

SBA Express lenders are cautioned that 

the provisions of 13 CFR 120.140 

(‘‘What ethical requirements apply to 

participants?’’) continue to apply to the 

Express Bridge Pilot. 

SBA’s modification of 13 CFR 120.150 

is authorized by 13 CFR 120.3 of its 

regulations, which provides that the 

SBA Administrator may suspend, 

modify or waive rules for a limited 

period of time to test new programs or 

ideas. This modification applies only to 

those loans made under the Express 

Bridge Pilot and will last only for the 

duration of the pilot, which expires 

September 30, 2020. As part of the 

Express Bridge Pilot, this modification 

applies only to those small businesses 

that were located, as of the date of the 

applicable disaster, in counties that 

have been Presidentially-declared as 

disaster areas, plus any contiguous 

counties. A listing of Presidentiallydeclared disaster declarations, including 

primary and contiguous counties can be 

located at www.sba.gov/disaster. 

Not more than ten percent of the total 

number of 7(a) loans guaranteed by SBA 

in any fiscal year may be made under 

the Express Bridge Pilot. 15 U.S.C. 

636(a)(25). While SBA does not expect 

the number of Express Bridge Pilot 

loans to reach that limit, SBA will 

provide public notice of the need to 

suspend lending under the pilot for the 

remainder of the fiscal year if SBA 

determines that the number of pilot 

loans is approaching the limit. 

SBA will be using the following 

criteria to evaluate the Express Bridge 

Pilot to determine how well it is 

achieving its objectives and other 

aspects of performance: (1) The 

measurable objectives to be achieved 

through the Express Bridge Pilot, 

including the number of small business 

concerns served, the percentage of 

Express Bridge Pilot loans made that 

were paid off or paid down using lower 

fixed rate disaster loans versus those 

that are held to term, and the default 

rate on the Express Bridge Pilot loans 

compared to regular SBA Express loans 

of similar size in the 7(a) portfolio; and 

(2) the costs and standards of 

performance which, in order to be 

acceptable, must not impact the subsidy 

model for the 7(a) Loan Program. The 

following method for data collection 

will be used: All loans will be entered 

directly using E-Tran or SBA One, 

which track eligibility by the county in 

which the small business is located, and 

which will facilitate tracking of 

performance on these loans. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 636(a)(25); 13 CFR 

120.3. 

Dated: October 6, 2017. 

Linda E. McMahon, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22385 Filed 10–13–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2017–0458; Airspace 

Docket No. 17–ASW–8] 

Amendment of Class E Airspace; 

Canadian, TX; and Wheeler, TX 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action amends Class E 

airspace extending upward from 700 

feet above the surface at Hemphill 

County Airport, Canadian, TX, and 

Wheeler Municipal Airport, Wheeler, 

TX. This action is due to the 

decommissioning of the Sayre colocated VHF omnidirectional range and 

tactical air navigation system (VORTAC) 

facility, which provided navigation 

guidance for the instrument procedures 

to these airports. The VORTAC is being 

decommissioned as part of the VHF 

omnidirectional range (VOR) Minimum 

Operational Network (MON) Program. 

Additionally, the geographic 

coordinates of the airports are being 

adjusted to coincide with the FAA’s 

aeronautical database. 

DATES: Effective 0901 UTC, February 1, 

2018. The Director of the Federal 

Register approves this incorporation by 

reference action under Title 1, Code of 

Federal Regulations, part 51, subject to 

the annual revision of FAA Order 

7400.11 and publication of conforming 

amendments. 

ADDRESSES: FAA Order 7400.11B, 

Airspace Designations and Reporting 

Points, and subsequent amendments can 

be viewed online at http://www.faa.gov/ 

air_traffic/publications/. For further 

information, you can contact the 

Airspace Policy Group, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone: (202) 267–8783. The Order is 

also available for inspection at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of FAA 

Order 7400.11B at NARA, call (202) 

741–6030, or go to https://

www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ 

ibr-locations.html. 

FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, is 

published yearly and effective on 

September 15. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Claypool, Federal Aviation 

Administration, Operations Support 

Group, Central Service Center, 10101 

Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 

76177; telephone (817) 222–5711. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

The FAA’s authority to issue rules 

regarding aviation safety is found in 

Title 49 of the United States Code. 

Subtitle I, Section 106 describes the 

authority of the FAA Administrator. 

Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, 

describes in more detail the scope of the 

agency’s authority. This rulemaking is 

promulgated under the authority 

described in Subtitle VII, Part A, 

Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that 

section, the FAA is charged with 

prescribing regulations to assign the use 

of airspace necessary to ensure the 

safety of aircraft and the efficient use of 

airspace. This regulation is within the 

scope of that authority as it amends 

Class E airspace extending upward from 

700 feet above the surface at Hemphill 

County Airport, Canadian, TX, and 

Wheeler Municipal Airport, Wheeler, 

TX, to support IFR operations at these 

airports. 

History 

On June 20, 2017, the FAA published 

in the Federal Register (82 FR 28033) 

Docket No. FAA–2017–0458, a notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 

Class E airspace extending upward from 

700 feet above the surface at Hemphill 

County Airport, Canadian, TX, and 

Wheeler Municipal Airport, Wheeler, 

TX, to enhance the safety and 

management of IFR operations at these 

airports. Interested parties were invited 

to participate in this rulemaking effort 

by submitting written comments on the 

proposal to the FAA. No comments 

were received. 

Class E airspace designations are 

published in paragraph 6005 of FAA 

Order 7400.11B, dated August 3, 2017, 

and effective September 15, 2017, which 


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