Except as provided in subsection (b), support provided by the Corporation under this subchapter shall be on such terms and conditions as the Corporation may prescribe.

The following requirements apply to support provided by the Corporation under this subchapter:

The Corporation shall provide support using authorities under this subchapter only if it is necessary—

(A) to alleviate a credit market imperfection; or

(B) to achieve specified development or foreign policy objectives of the United States Government by providing support in the most efficient way to meet those objectives on a case-by-case basis.

The final maturity of a loan made or guaranteed by the Corporation shall not exceed the lesser of—

(A) 25 years; or

(B) debt servicing capabilities of the project to be financed by the loan (as determined by the Corporation).

(3) The Corporation shall, with respect to providing any loan guaranty to a project, require the parties to the project to bear the risk of loss in an amount equal to at least 20 percent of the guaranteed support by the Corporation in the project.

(4) The Corporation may not make or guarantee a loan unless the Corporation determines that the borrower or lender is responsible and that adequate provision is made for servicing the loan on reasonable terms and protecting the financial interest of the United States.

(5) The interest rate for direct loans and interest supplements on guaranteed loans shall be set by reference to a benchmark interest rate (yield) on marketable Treasury securities or other widely recognized or appropriate benchmarks with a similar maturity to the loans being made or guaranteed, as determined in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury. The Corporation shall establish appropriate minimum interest rates for loans, guaranties, and other instruments as necessary.

(6) The minimum interest rate for new loans as established by the Corporation shall be adjusted periodically to take account of changes in the interest rate of the benchmark financial instrument.

The Corporation shall set fees or premiums for support provided under this subchapter at levels that minimize the cost to the Government while supporting achievement of the objectives of support.

(A) The Corporation shall set fees or premiums for support provided under this subchapter at levels that minimize the cost to the Government while supporting achievement of the objectives of support.

(B) The Corporation shall review fees for loan guaranties periodically to ensure that the fees assessed on new loan guaranties are at a level sufficient to cover the Corporation’s most recent estimates of its costs.

Any loan guaranty provided by the Corporation shall be conclusive evidence that—

(A) the guaranty has been properly obtained;

(B) the loan qualified for the guaranty; and

(C) but for fraud or material misrepresentation by the holder of the guaranty, the guaranty is presumed to be valid, legal, and enforceable.

(9) The Corporation shall prescribe explicit standards for use in periodically assessing the credit risk of new and existing direct loans or guaranteed loans.

(10) The Corporation may not make loans or loan guaranties except to the extent that budget authority to cover the costs of the loans or guaranties is provided in advance in an appropriations Act, as required by section 661c of title 2.

(11) The Corporation shall rely upon specific standards to assess the developmental and strategic value of projects for which it provides support and should only provide the minimum level of support necessary in order to support such projects.

(12) Any loan or loan guaranty made by the Corporation should be provided on a senior basis or pari passu with other senior debt unless there is a substantive policy rationale to provide such support otherwise.

(Pub. L. 115–254, div. F, title II, § 1422, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3497.)