15 U.S.C. § 1845 (COMMERCE AND TRADE)
§ 1845. Requirements applicable to loan guarantees
(a) Stock dividends or other payments, prohibition; waiver
A guarantee agreement made under this chapter with respect to an enterprise shall require that while there is any principal or interest remaining unpaid on a guaranteed loan to that enterprise the enterprise may not—
(1) declare a dividend on its common stock; or
(2) make any payment on its other indebtedness to a lender whose loan has been guaranteed under this chapter.
The Board may waive either or both of the requirements set forth in this subsection, as specified in the guarantee agreement covering a loan to any particular enterprise, if it determines that such waiver is not inconsistent with the reasonable protection of the interests of the United States under the guarantee.
(b) Managerial changes
If the Board determines that the inability of an enterprise to obtain credit without a guarantee under this chapter is the result of a failure on the part of management to exercise reasonable business prudence in the conduct of the affairs of the enterprise, the Board shall require before guaranteeing any loan to the enterprise that the enterprise make such management changes as the Board deems necessary to give the enterprise a sound managerial base.
(c) Financial statement; access to documents
A guarantee of a loan to any enterprise shall not be made under this chapter unless—
(1) the Board has received an audited financial statement of the enterprise; and
(2) the enterprise permits the Board to have the same access to its books and other documents as the Board would have under section 1846 of this title in the event the loan is guaranteed.
(d) Exhaustion of remedies
No payment shall be made or become due under a guarantee entered into under this chapter unless the lender has exhausted any remedies which it may have under the guarantee agreement.
(e) Protective provisions; advances
(1) Prior to making any guarantee under this chapter, the Board shall satisfy itself that the underlying loan agreement on which the guarantee is sought contains all the affirmative and negative covenants and other protective provisions which are usual and customary in loan agreements of a similar kind, including previous loan agreements between the lender and the borrower, and that it cannot be amended, or any provisions waived, without the Board’s prior consent.
(2) On each occasion when the borrower seeks an advance under the loan agreement, the guarantee authorized by this chapter shall be in force as to the funds advanced only if—
(A) the lender gives the Board at least ten days’ notice in writing of its intent to provide the borrower with funds pursuant to the loan agreement;
(B) the lender certifies to the Board before an advance is made that, as of the date of the notice provided for in subparagraph (A), the borrower is not in default under the loan agreement: Provided, That if a default has occurred the lender shall report the facts and circumstances relating thereto to the Board and the Board may expressly and in writing waive such default in any case where it determines that such waiver is not inconsistent with the reasonable protection of the interests of the United States under the guarantee; and
(C) the borrower provides the Board with a plan setting forth the expenditures for which the advance will be used and the period during which the expenditures will be made, and, upon the expiration of such periods, reports to the Board any instances in which amounts advanced have not been expended in accordance with the plan.
(f) Loan security, priority; collateral
(1) A guarantee agreement made under this chapter shall contain a requirement that as between the Board and the lender, the Board shall have a priority with respect to, and to the extent of, the lender’s interest in any collateral securing the loan and any earlier outstanding loans. The Board shall take all steps necessary to assure such priority against any other persons.
(2) As used in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the term “collateral” includes all assets pledged under loan agreements and, if appropriate in the opinion of the Board, all sums of the borrower on deposit with the lender and subject to offset under section 68 of the Bankruptcy Act.
(Pub. L. 92–70, § 6, Aug. 9, 1971, 85 Stat. 179.)
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: References in Text
text: Section 68 of the Bankruptcy Act, referred to in subsec. (f)(2), was classified to section 108 of former Title 11, Bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Act was repealed effective Oct. 1, 1979, by Pub. L. 95–598, §§ 401(a), 402(a), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2682, section 101 of which enacted revised Title 11. See sections 502(b)(3) and 553 of Title 11.