Mediation. When it has been determined that default cannot be cured through any of the servicing options available, or if the lender does not wish to utilize any of the authorities provided in this part, the lender must:

Participate in mediation according to the rules and regulations of any State which has a mandatory farmer-creditor mediation program;

Consider private mediation services in those States which do not have a mandatory farmer-creditor mediation program; and

Not agree to any proposals to rewrite the terms of a guaranteed loan which do not comply with this part. Any agreements reached as a result of mediation involving defaults and or loan restructuring must have written concurrence from the Agency before they are implemented.

Liquidation plan. If a default cannot be cured after considering servicing options and mediation, the lender will proceed with liquidation of the collateral in accordance with the following:

Within 150 days after the payment due date, all lenders will prepare a liquidation plan. Standard eligible and CLP lenders will submit a written liquidation plan to the Agency which includes:

Current balance sheets from all liable parties or, if the parties are not cooperative, the best information available, or in liquidation bankruptcies, a copy of the bankruptcy schedules or discharge notice;

A proposed method of maximizing the collection of debt which includes specific plans to collect any remaining loan balances on the guaranteed loan after loan collateral has been liquidated, including possibilities for judgment;

If the borrower has converted loan security, the lender will determine whether litigation is cost effective. The lender must address, in the liquidation plan, whether civil or criminal action will be pursued. If the lender does not pursue the recovery, the reason must be documented when an estimated loss claim is submitted.

Any proposal to release the borrower from liability will be addressed in the liquidation plan in accordance with § 762.146(c)(2);

An independent appraisal report on all collateral securing the loan that meets the requirements of § 762.127 and a calculation of the net recovery value of the security as defined in ;§ 761.2(b) of this chapter. The appraisal requirement may be waived by the Agency in the following cases:

The bankruptcy trustee is handling the liquidation and the lender has submitted the trustee's determination of value;

The lender's proposed method of liquidation rarely results in receipt of less than market value for livestock and used equipment; or

A purchase offer has already been received for more than the debt;

An estimate of time necessary to complete the liquidation;

An estimated loss claim must be filed no later than 150 days past the payment due date unless the account has been completely liquidated and then a final loss claim must be filed.

An estimate of reasonable liquidation expenses; and

An estimate of any protective advances.

PLP lenders will submit a liquidation plan as required by their lender's agreement.

Agency approval of the liquidation plan. (1) CLP lender's or standard eligible lender's liquidation plan, and any revisions of the plan, must be approved by the Agency.

If, within 20 calendar days of the Agency's receipt of the liquidation plan, the Agency fails to approve it or fails to request that the lender make revisions, the lender may assume the plan is approved. The lender may then proceed to begin liquidation actions at its discretion as long as it has been at least 60 days since the borrower's eligibility for interest assistance was considered.

At its option, the Agency may liquidate the guaranteed loan as follows:

Upon Agency request, the lender will transfer to the Agency all rights and interests necessary to allow the Agency to liquidate the loan. The Agency will not pay the lender for any loss until after the collateral is liquidated and the final loss is determined; and

If the Agency conducts the liquidation, interest accrual will cease on the date the Agency notifies the lender in writing that it assumes responsibility for the liquidation.

Estimated loss claims. An estimated loss claim must be submitted by all lenders no later than 150 days after the payment due date unless the account has been completely liquidated and then a final loss claim must be filed. The estimated loss will be based on the following:

The Agency will pay the lender the guaranteed percentage of the total outstanding debt, less the net recovery value of the remaining security, less any unaccounted for security; and

The lender will discontinue interest accrual on the defaulted loan at the time the estimated loss claim is paid by the Agency. The Agency will not pay interest beyond 210 days from the payment due date. If the lender estimates that there will be no loss after considering the costs of liquidation, an estimated loss of zero will be submitted and interest accrual will cease upon the approval of the estimated loss and never later than 210 days from the payment due date. The following exceptions apply:

In the case of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, in cases where the lender filed an estimated loss claim, the Agency will pay the lender interest that accrues during and up to 45 days after the discharge on the portion of the chattel only secured debt that was estimated to be secured, but upon final liquidation was found to be unsecured, and up to 90 days after the date of discharge on the portion of real estate secured debt that was estimated to be secured, but was found to be unsecured upon final disposition.

The Agency will pay the lender interest that accrues during and up to 90 days after the time period the lender is unable to dispose of acquired property due to state imposed redemption rights on any unsecured portion of the loan during the redemption period, if an estimated loss claim was paid by the Agency during the liquidation action.

Packager fees and outside consultant fees for servicing of guaranteed loans are not covered by the guarantee, and will not be paid in an estimated loss claim.

Protective advances. (1) Prior written authorization from the Agency is required for all protective advances in excess of $5,000 for CLP lenders and $3,000 for standard eligible lenders. The dollar amount of protective advances allowed for PLP lenders will be specified when PLP status is awarded by the Agency or as contained in the lender's agreement.

The lender may claim recovery for the guaranteed portion of any loss of monies advanced as protective advances as allowed in this part, plus interest that accrues on the protective advances.

Payment for protective advances is made by the Agency when the final loss claim is approved, except in bankruptcy actions.

Protective advances are used only when the borrower is in liquidation, liquidation is imminent, or when the lender has taken title to real property in a liquidation action.

Legal fees are not a protective advance.

Protective advances may only be made when the lender can demonstrate the advance is in the best interest of the lender and the Agency.

Protective advances must constitute a debt of the borrower to the lender and be secured by the security instrument.

Protective advances must not be made in lieu of additional loans.

Unapproved loans or advances. The amount of any payments made by the borrower on unapproved loans or advances outside of the guarantee will be deducted from any loss claim submitted by the lender on the guaranteed loan, if that loan or advance was paid prior to, and to the detriment of, the guaranteed loan.

Acceleration. (1) If the borrower is not in bankruptcy, the lender shall send the borrower notice that the loan is in default and the entire debt has been determined due and payable immediately after other servicing options have been exhausted.

The loan cannot be accelerated until after the borrower has been considered for interest assistance and the conclusion of mandatory mediation in accordance with § 762.149.

The lender will submit a copy of the acceleration notice or other document to the Agency.

Foreclosure. (1) The lender is responsible for determining the necessary parties to any foreclosure action, or who should be named on a deed of conveyance taken in lieu of foreclosure.

When the property is liquidated, the lender will apply the net proceeds to the guaranteed loan debt.

When it is necessary to enter a bid at a foreclosure sale, the lender may bid the amount that it determines is reasonable to protect its and the Agency's interest. At a minimum, the lender will bid the lesser of the net recovery value or the unpaid guaranteed loan balance.

Final loss claims. (1) Lenders must submit a final loss claim when the security has been liquidated and all proceeds have been received and applied to the account. All proceeds must be applied to principal first and then toward accrued interest if the interest is still accruing. The application of the loss claim payment to the account does not automatically release the borrower of liability for any portion of the borrower's debt to the lender. The lender will continue to be responsible for collecting the full amount of the debt and sharing these future recoveries with the Agency in accordance with paragraph (j) of this section.

If a lender acquires title to property either through voluntary conveyance or foreclosure proceeding, the lender will submit a final loss claim after disposing of the property. The lender may pay reasonable maintenance expenses to protect the value of the property while it is owned by the lender. These may be paid as protective advances or deducted as liquidation expenses from the sales proceeds when the lender disposes of the property. The lender must obtain Agency written concurrence before incurring maintenance expenses which exceed the amounts allowed in § 762.149(e)(1). Packager fees and outside consultant fees for servicing of guaranteed loans are not covered by the guarantee, and will not be paid in a final loss claim.

The lender will make its records available to the Agency for the Agency's audit of the propriety of any loss payment.

All lenders will submit the following documents with a final loss claim:

An accounting of the use of loan funds;

An accounting of the disposition of loan security and its proceeds;

A copy of the loan ledger indicating loan advances, interest rate changes, protective advances, and application of payments, rental proceeds, and security proceeds, including a running outstanding balance total; and

Documentation, as requested by the Agency, concerning the lender's compliance with the requirements of this part.

The Agency will notify the lender of any discrepancies in the final loss claim or, approve or reject the claim within 40 days. Failure to do so will result in additional interest being paid to the lender for the number of days over 40 taken to process the claim.

The Agency will reduce a final loss claim based on its calculation of the dollar amount of loss caused by the lender's negligent servicing of the account. Loss claims may be reduced or rejected as a result of the following:

A loss claim may be reduced by the amount caused by the lender's failure to secure property after a default, and will be reduced by the amount of interest that accrues when the lender fails to contact the borrower or takes no action to cure the default, once it occurs. Losses incurred as a result of interest accrual during excessive delays in collection, as determined by the Agency, will not be paid.

Unauthorized release of security proceeds, failure to verify ownership or possession of security to be purchased, or failure to inspect collateral as often required so as to ensure its maintenance.

Losses will not be reduced for the following:

Servicing deficiencies that did not contribute materially to the dollar amount of the loss.

Unaccounted security, as long as the lender's efforts to locate and recover the missing collateral was equal to that which would have been expended in the case of an unguaranteed loan in the lender's portfolio.

Default interest, late charges, and loan servicing fees are not payable under the loss claim.

The final loss will be the remaining outstanding balance after application of the estimated loss payment and the application of proceeds from the liquidation of the security.

If the final loss is less than the estimated loss, the lender will reimburse the Agency for the overpayment, plus interest at the note rate from the date of the estimated loss payment.

The lender will return the original guarantee marked paid after receipt of a final loss claim.

Future Recovery. The lender will remit any recoveries made on the account after the Agency's payment of a final loss claim to the Agency in proportion to the percentage of guarantee, in accordance with the lender's agreement, until the account is paid in full or otherwise satisfied.

Overpayments. The lender will repay any final loss overpayment determined by the Agency upon request.

Electronic funds transfer. The lender will designate one or more financial institutions to which any Agency payments will be made via electronic funds transfer.

Establishment of Federal debt. Any amounts paid by the Agency on account of liabilities of the guaranteed loan borrower will constitute a Federal debt owing to the Agency by the guaranteed loan borrower. In such case, the Agency may use all remedies available to it, including offset under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, to collect the debt from the borrower. Interest charges will be established at the note rate of the guaranteed loan on the date the final loss claim is paid.