15 U.S.C. § 697d (COMMERCE AND TRADE)
§ 697d. Accredited Lenders Program
(a) Establishment
The Administration is authorized to establish an Accredited Lenders Program for qualified State and local development companies that meet the requirements of subsection (b).
(b) Requirements
The Administration may designate a qualified State or local development company as an accredited lender if such company—
(1) has been an active participant in the Development Company Program authorized by sections 696, 697, and 697a of this title for not less than the preceding 12 months;
(2) has well-trained, qualified personnel who are knowledgeable in the Administration’s lending policies and procedures for such Development Company Program;
(3) has the ability to process, close, and service financing for plant and equipment under such Development Company Program;
(4) has a loss rate on the company’s debentures that is reasonable and acceptable to the Administration;
(5) has a history of submitting to the Administration complete and accurate debenture guaranty application packages; and
(6) has demonstrated the ability to serve small business credit needs for financing plant and equipment through the Development Company Program.
(c) Expedited processing of loan applications
The Administration shall develop an expedited procedure for processing a loan application or servicing action submitted by a qualified State or local development company that has been designated as an accredited lender in accordance with subsection (b).
(d) Suspension or revocation of designation
(1) In general
The designation of a qualified State or local development company as an accredited lender may be suspended or revoked if the Administration determines that—
(A) the development company has not continued to meet the criteria for eligibility under subsection (b); or
(B) the development company has failed to adhere to the Administration’s rules and regulations or is violating any other applicable provision of law.
(2) Effect
A suspension or revocation under paragraph (1) shall not affect any outstanding debenture guarantee.
(e) Express loan authority
A local development company designated as an accredited lender in accordance with subsection (b)—
(1) may—
(A) approve, authorize, close, and service covered loans that are funded with proceeds of a debenture issued by the company; and
(B) authorize the guarantee of a debenture described in subparagraph (A); and
(2) with respect to a covered loan, shall be subject to final approval as to eligibility of any guarantee by the Administration pursuant to section 697(a) of this title, but such final approval shall not include review of decisions by the lender involving creditworthiness, loan closing, or compliance with legal requirements imposed by law or regulation.
(f) Definitions
In this section—
(1) the term “accredited lender certified company” means a certified development company that meets the requirements under subsection (b), including a certified development company that the Administration has designated as an accredited lender under that subsection;
(2) the term “covered loan”—
(A) means a loan made under section 696 of this title in an amount that is not more than $500,000; and
(B) does not include a loan made to a borrower that is in an industry that has a high rate of default, as annually determined by the Administrator and reported in rules of the Administration; and
(3) the term “qualified State or local development company” has the meaning given the term in section 697(e) of this title.
(Pub. L. 85–699, title V, § 507, as added Pub. L. 103–403, title II, § 212(a), Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4183; amended Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title III, § 328(b), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2040.)
heading: Amendment of Section
text: Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title III, § 328(b)(2), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2040, provided that, effective Sept. 30, 2023, this section is amended by striking subsections (e) and (f) and inserting the following:
(e) Definition
In this section, the term “qualified State or local development company” has the meaning given the term in section 697(e) of this title.
See 2020 Amendment note below.
heading: Amendments
text: 2020—Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 116–260, § 328(b)(2), added subsec. (e) and struck out former subsec. (e), which related to express loan authority of a local development company designated as an accredited lender, and subsec. (f), which defined terms “accredited lender certified company”, “covered loan”, and “qualified State or local development company” in this section.
Pub. L. 116–260, § 328(b)(1), added subsecs. (e) and (f) and struck out former subsec. (e), which defined “qualified State or local development company” for purposes of this section.
heading: Effective Date of 2020 Amendment
text: Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title III, § 328(b)(2), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2040, provided in part that the amendment made by section 328(b)(2) is effective on Sept. 30, 2023.
Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 116–260 effective on Dec. 27, 2020, and applicable to loans and grants made on or after Dec. 27, 2020, see section 348 of Pub. L. 116–260, set out as a note under section 636 of this title.
heading: Regulations
text: Pub. L. 103–403, title II, § 212(b), Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4184, provided that: “Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 22, 1994], the Administration shall promulgate final regulations to carry out this section [enacting this section and provisions set out below].”
heading: Report on Implementation of Program
text: Pub. L. 103–403, title II, § 212(c), Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4184, provided that: “Not later than 1 year after the effective date of regulations promulgated under subsection (b) [set out above], and biennially thereafter, the Administration shall report to the Committees on Small Business of the Senate and the House of Representatives [Committee on Small Business of Senate now Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of Senate] on the implementation of this section [enacting this section and provisions set out above]. Such report shall include data on the number of development companies designated as accredited lenders, their debenture guarantee volume, their loss rates, the average processing time on their guarantee applications, and such other information as the Administration deems appropriate.”