§2151f. Private sector revolving fund
(a) Establishment
The Congress finds that the development of private enterprise, including cooperatives, is a vital factor in the stable growth of developing countries and in the development and stability of a free, open, and equitable international economic system. It is therefore in the best interests of the United States to assist the development of the private sector in developing countries and to engage the United States private sector in that process. In order to promote such private sector development, the President is authorized to establish a revolving fund account in the United States Treasury. All funds deposited in such account shall, notwithstanding any provision in an appropriation Act to the contrary, be free from fiscal year limitations.
(b) Funding
Of the funds made available under this part in each of the fiscal years 1986 and 1987, up to $18,000,000 may be deposited in this account. Such funds used in accordance with the policies and authorities of this section shall be in addition to other funds available for private sector activities under other authorities in this chapter. Any reflows and income arising from activities carried out pursuant to this section, including loan repayments and fee income (as provided in subsection (e) of this section), shall be deposited into the revolving fund and remain available to carry out the purposes of this section. All funds in such account may be invested in obligations of the United States.
(c) Authorized uses; determination of small business enterprise; maximum amounts available; interest rate
(1) The agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter is authorized to use the funds maintained in this revolving fund account to furnish assistance in furtherance of the policy of subsection (a) of this section on such terms and conditions as it may determine. Amounts in the revolving fund account shall be available for obligation for assistance under this section only to such extent as may be provided in advance in appropriation Acts. Assistance may be provided under this section without regard to section 1 2354(a) and 2370(r) of this title.
(2) Assistance under this section may be provided only to support private sector activities which-
(A) are consistent with the United States development assistance policies set forth in section 2151–1 of this title and with the development priorities of the host country;
(B) are the types of activities for which assistance may be provided under sections 2151a through 2151d of this title;
(C) will have a demonstration effect;
(D) will be innovative;
(E) are financially viable;
(F) will maximize the development impact appropriate to the host country, particularly in employment and the use of appropriate technology; and
(G) are primarily directed to making available to small business enterprises and cooperatives necessary support and services which are not otherwise generally available.
In determining whether an enterprise is a small business enterprise, the agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter shall take into consideration the enterprise's total net fixed assets and number of employees, together with the relevant definition utilized by the host country government and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other international organizations.
(3)(A) Not more than $3,000,000 may be made available under this section to support any one project.
(B) Not more than 50 per centum of the financial support for any project may be provided under this section, and a substantial portion of the financial support for a project assisted under this section must be provided by sources within the host country.
(C) Not more than 20 per centum of the assets of the revolving fund account under this section may be used to support projects in any one country.
(D) In order to maximize the impact on institution building, loans under this section shall be made primarily to intermediary entities which provide necessary support and services for private sector activities.
(E) Loans under this section shall be at or near the interest rate otherwise available to the recipient.
(d) Remittance of excess assets
(1) If at any time the assets of the revolving fund account exceeds $100,000,000, the President shall remit the amount in excess of $100,000,000 to the United States Treasury.
(2) As used in this section, "assets" includes amounts in the revolving fund account plus the value of investments made with amounts from the fund plus the current value of outstanding obligations under loans under this section.
(3) In addition to the requirement of paragraph (1), at the end of any fiscal year, the agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter may determine that amounts in the revolving fund are sufficient to permit the remittance to the United States Treasury of an amount equal to a portion or the total amount of appropriated funds deposited in the revolving fund. Any such remittance shall be deemed to be a decrease in the appropriated funds in the revolving fund. After remittance has been made of an amount equal to the total amount of appropriated funds, the revolving fund shall consist and be deemed to consist entirely of nonappropriated funds.
(e) Fee for carrying out activities
A fee may be charged, where appropriate, in carrying out activities with funds from the revolving fund authorized in this section. The amount of any such fee shall be determined by the agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter.
(f) Transfer of unobligated funds upon termination
In the event the revolving fund is terminated, all unobligated money in the fund at the time of such termination shall be transferred to and become part of the miscellaneous receipts account of the Treasury.
(g) Inclusion of proposed projects in annual congressional presentation documents
As part of its annual congressional presentation documents submitted to the Congress, the agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter shall include a description of projects proposed to be funded from the revolving fund account for that fiscal year. To the extent that projects are proposed for funding which are not contained in the annual congressional presentation documents, at least fifteen days advance notification shall be provided to the Congress in accordance with section 2394–1 of this title.
(h) Annual report to Congress
Not later than December 31 of each year, the President shall submit to the Congress a comprehensive report which details all projects funded under this section during the previous fiscal year, all reflows to the revolving fund account, a status report on all projects currently contained in the fund's portfolio. Such reports shall include, but not be limited to, information regarding numbers and kinds of beneficiaries reached, amounts and kinds of benefits provided by the funded projects to targeted populations, and a justification for projects within the context of the goals and objectives of the United States development assistance program.
(i) Loan guarantees
(1) To carry out the purposes of subsection (a) of this section, in addition to the other authorities set forth in this section, the agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter is authorized to issue guarantees on such terms and conditions as it shall determine assuring against losses incurred in connection with loans made to projects that meet the criteria set forth in subsection (c) of this section. The full faith and credit of the United States is hereby pledged for the full payment and performance of such guarantees.
(2) Loans guaranteed under this subsection shall be on such terms and conditions as the agency may prescribe, except for the following:
(A) The agency shall issue guarantees only when it is necessary to alleviate a credit market imperfection.
(B) Loans guaranteed shall provide for complete amortization within a period not to exceed ten years or, if the principal purpose of the guaranteed loan is to finance the construction or purchase of a physical asset with a useful life of less than ten years, within a period not to exceed such useful life.
(C) No loan guaranteed to any one borrower may exceed 50 percent of the cost of the activity to be financed, or $3,000,000, whichever is less, as determined by the agency.
(D) No loan may be guaranteed unless the agency determines that the 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.
(E) The fees earned from the loan guarantees issued under this subsection shall be deposited in the revolving fund account as part of the guarantee reserve established under paragraph (5) of this subsection. Fees shall be assessed at a level such that the fees received, plus the funds from the revolving fund account placed in the guarantee reserve, satisfy the requirements of paragraph (5). Fees shall be reviewed every twelve months to ensure that the fees assessed on new loan guarantees are at the required level.
(F) Any guarantee shall be conclusive evidence that such guarantee has been properly obtained, and that the underlying loan as contracted qualifies for such guarantee. Except for fraud or material misrepresentation for which the parties seeking payment under such guarantee are responsible, such guarantee shall be presumed to be valid, legal, and enforceable.
(G) The agency shall determine that the standards used by the lender for assessing the credit risk of new and existing guaranteed loans are reasonable. The agency shall require that there be a reasonable assurance of repayment before credit assistance is extended.
(H) Commitments to guarantee loans may be made by the agency only to the extent that the total loan principal, any part of which is guaranteed, will not exceed the amount specified in annual appropriations Acts.
(3) To the extent that fees are not sufficient as specified under paragraph (2)(E) to cover expected future liabilities, appropriations are authorized to maintain an appropriate reserve.
(4) The losses guaranteed under this subsection may be in dollars or in other currencies. In the case of loans in currencies other than dollars, the guarantees issued shall be subject to an overall payment limitation expressed in dollars.
(5) The agency shall segregate in the revolving fund account and hold as a reserve an amount estimated to be sufficient to cover the agency's expected net liabilities on the loan guarantees outstanding under this subsection; except that the amount held in reserve shall not be less than 25 percent of the principal amount of the agency's outstanding contingent liabilities on such guarantees. Any payments made to discharge liabilities arising from the loan guarantees shall be paid first out of the assets in the revolving fund account and next out of other funds made available for this purpose.
(
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original "this Act", meaning
References to Subchapter I Deemed To Include Certain Parts of Subchapter II
References to subchapter I of this chapter are deemed to include parts IV (§2346 et seq.), VI (§2348 et seq.), and VIII (§2349aa et seq.) of subchapter II of this chapter, and references to subchapter II are deemed to exclude such parts. See section 202(b) of
References to Sections 2151a Through 2151d Deemed To Include Section 2293
References to sections 2151a through 2151d of this title are deemed to include a reference to section 2293 of this title. See section 2293(d)(1) of this title.
Codification
Section 108 of
Prior Provisions
A prior section 2151f,
Amendments
1988-Subsec. (i).
1985-Subsec. (b).
Effective Date of 1985 Amendment
Amendment by
Delegation of Functions
For delegation of functions of President under this section, see Ex. Ord. No. 12163, Sept. 29, 1979, 44 F.R. 56673, as amended, set out as a note under section 2381 of this title.