§9622 Terms and Conditions

Summary

The Corporation must set the rules for its loans and loan guarantees and may only use them when needed either to fix a credit market problem or to meet specific U.S. development or foreign policy goals on a case-by-case basis. Loans or guarantees can have a final maturity no longer than the lesser of 25 years or what the project can afford to repay. Project partners must take at least 20 percent of the risk on any guaranteed loan; the Corporation can work to allow up to 100 percent guarantees only if the partners still bear 20 percent of the risk. The Corporation must check that borrowers and lenders are responsible and that loan servicing protects the U.S. interest. Interest rates must follow a market Treasury benchmark set with input from OMB and the Treasury and have minimum rates that are adjusted over time. Fees and premiums should be set to keep government cost low and cover the Corporation’s estimated costs, and they must be reviewed regularly. Guarantees are treated as valid and enforceable unless there was fraud or a major lie. The Corporation must use clear credit-risk and value standards, limit support to what is needed, and generally place its loans senior or equal to other senior debt. Support requires budget authority approved in advance under section 661c of title 2. When the Corporation works through local intermediaries, its rules must match industry best practices and its own direct-lending rules. It must write truth-in-lending rules and report them to the relevant congressional committees within 180 days of December 18, 2025, with annual updates. Those rules must protect vulnerable borrowers (like microlending clients), avoid overly harsh penalties, stop abusive or usurious lending, and require clear disclosures to borrowers about rights, loan terms and length, default penalties, privacy and data protection, and any other material facts. The Corporation must audit intermediary lending and include a summary of those audits in its annual report to Congress.