(a) Collateral.

1. (1) The lender is responsible for seeing that proper and adequate collateral is obtained and maintained in existence and of record to protect the interest of the lender, the holder, and Rural Development.
2. (2) Collateral must be of such a nature that repayment of the loan is reasonably assured when considered with the integrity and ability of project management, soundness of the project, and applicant's prospective earnings. Collateral may include, but is not limited to the following: Land, buildings, machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures, inventory, accounts receivable, cash or special cash collateral accounts, marketable securities and cash surrender value of life insurance. Collateral may also include assignments of leases or leasehold interest, revenues, patents, and copyrights.
3. (3) All collateral must secure the entire loan. The lender will not take separate collateral to secure only that portion of the loan or loss not covered by the guarantee. The lender will not require compensating balances or certificates of deposit as a means of eliminating the lender's exposure on the unguaranteed portion of the loan. However, compensating balances as used in the ordinary course of business may be used.

4. (4) Release of collateral of a going concern is based on a complete analysis of the proposal.

   1. (i) Release of collateral prior to payment-in-full of the Rural Development guaranteed debt must be requested by the lender and concurred with by the State Director as prescribed in § 1980.469 Administrative D.2 of this subpart subject to the following conditions:

      1. (A) Collateral taken initially or subsequently may not be released prior to the payoff, in full, of the loan balance without adequate consideration for the value of that collateral. Adequate consideration may include, but is not limited to:

         (1) Application of the net proceeds from the sale of the collateral to the note in inverse order of maturity. All or part of the total proceeds, if approved by the Administrator, may be applied to the payment of current or delinquent principal and interest on the note; or

         (2) Use of the net proceeds from the sale of collateral to purchase collateral of equal or greater value for which the lender will obtain a first lien position; or

         (3) Application of net proceeds from the sale of collateral to the borrower's business operations in such a manner that enhancement of the borrower's debt service ability can be clearly demonstrated; for example, the payoff or reamortization of the loan as the result of a large extra payment which reduces subsequent installments on the loan; or

         (4) Assurance to Rural Development that the release of collateral will contribute to the project's success thereby furthering the goals of the B&I program to show why the release of collateral will contribute to the success of the borrower and repayment of the loan; and

      2. (B) Rural Development must not be adversely affected by the release of collateral; and
      3. (C) If the release of collateral does not involve a reduction of the Rural Development guaranteed debt equal to the net proceeds of the disposition of the collateral, then it must be determined that the remaining collateral is sufficient to provide for the recovery of the Rural Development guaranteed loan(s).
   2. (ii) Sale of collateral of a going concern to the borrower, borrower's stockholder(s) or officer(s), the lender or lender's stockholder(s) or officer(s) must be based on an arm's-length transaction with the concurrence of Rural Development.

(b) Personal and corporate guarantees.

1. (1) Unconditional personal/corporate guarantees (i.e., absolute guarantees of full and punctual payment and performance by the borrower) from owners or major stockholders as determined by Rural Development and all partners of partnerships (except for limited partnerships) unless restricted by law will be required unless exempted as provided for in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. Guarantees of parent, subsidiaries, or affiliated companies and/or secured guarantees may also be required. Rural Development is not a co-guarantor with the personal or corporate guarantors. The personal and corporate guarantees are part of the collateral for the loan.

2. (2) An exception to the requirement for personal or corporate guarantees may be made by Rural Development when requested by the lender and if:

   1. (i) The borrower has a satisfactory and current (not over 90 days old) credit report, proven management, evidence of the market necessary to support projections, profitable historical performance of no less than 3 years, abundant collateral to protect the lender and Rural Development, sufficient cash flow to service its debts and meets key industry standards such as those of Robert Morris Associates, Dunn and Bradstreet or the like; or
   2. (ii) The borrower's stock is widely enough held so that no one individual can exercise control. Examples of control would include but are not limited to: Holding sufficient proxies and maintaining sufficient family or special interest voting blocks; or
   3. (iii) A borrower which has a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate which is legally restricted from guaranteeing, or if the guarantee would conflict with existing contractual obligations. Examples of existing contractual obligations include but are not limited to restrictions in loan agreements or in credit lines which may preclude guaranteeing.
3. (3) No guarantees are required from any partners in a limited partnership.
4. (4) As a general rule, stockholders of publicly traded corporations will not be required to guarantee. However, such guarantees can be required from some of the stockholders where such guarantees are determined necessary to adequately protect the interest of the Government.
5. (5) If the guarantee would conflict with existing contractual restrictions, the Administrator will have the authority to grant exceptions to the above restrictions upon a finding by the Administrator that such a guarantee is not necessary to adequately protect the Government's interest. Relief would only be granted as to contractual restrictions existing at the time the lender filed an application with Rural Development.
6. (6) Unsecured personal guarantees, while collateral, will not be considered for purposes of adequacy of security. Personal guarantees will be secured by collateral when business collateral offered is determined by Rural Development to be insufficient or when the borrower's credit does not meet the program's normal requirements or anytime the lender deems such security should be taken.

7. (7) Guarantors of borrowers will:

   1. (i) In the case of personal guarantees, provide current financial statements (not over 60 days old at time of filing), signed by the guarantors, which make a clear disclosure of community or homestead property.
   2. (ii) in the case of corporate guarantees, provide current financial statements (not over 90 days old at time of filing), certified by an officer of the corporation.
   3. (iii) When applicable, provide written evidence to Rural Development of their inability to provide a guarantee because of existing contractual arrangements or legal restrictions.

(c) Other requirements.

1. (1) The lender will ascertain that no claim or liens of laborers, material men, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers of machinery and equipment or other parties are against the collateral of the borrower, and that no suits are pending or threatened that would adversely affect the collateral of the borrower when the security instruments are filed.
2. (2) Hazard insurance with a standard mortgage clause naming the lender as beneficiary will be required on every loan in an amount that is at least the lesser of the depreciated replacement value of the property being insured or the amount of the loan. Hazard insurance includes fire, windstorm, lightning, hail, business interruption, explosion, riot, civil commotion, aircraft, vehicle, marine, smoke, builder's risk, public liability, property damage, flood or mudslide or any other hazard insurance that may be required to protect the collateral.
3. (3) Ordinarily, life insurance, which may be decreasing term insurance, is required for the principals and key employees of the borrower and will be assigned or pledged to the lender. A schedule of life insurance available for the benefit of the loan will be included as part of the application.

4. (4) Workman's compensation insurance is required in accordance with State law.

   Administrative A. Par (a)(2). Rural Development's credit analysis of collateral will consist of the following: 1. Little or no value will be assigned to unsecured personal or corporate guarantees. 2. A maximum of 80 percent of current market value will be given to real estate. Special purpose real estate should be assigned less value. 3. Rural Development at its option may permit a maximum of 60 percent of book value to be assigned to acceptable accounts receivable; however, all accounts over 90 days past due, contra accounts, affiliated accounts and other accounts deemed, by the Rural Development official, not to be collateral will be omitted. Calculations to determine the percentage to be applied in the analysis are to be based on the realizable value of the accounts receivable taken from a current aging of accounts receivable from the borrower's most recent financial statement. 4. A maximum of 60 percent of book value will be assigned to inventory. 5. Collateral value assigned to machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures will be based upon its marketability, mobility, useful life and alternative uses, if any. B. Par (b). The State Director will assure that the collateral values and personal and corporate guarantees are fully reviewed, analyzed and the loan file is documented as to the facts and reasons for decisions reached.