WASHINGTON — The Trump Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting applications for the department’s four key loan guarantee programs under the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative.

“Rural America needs a mix of public and private partnerships and investments to build stronger, healthier communities,” USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Bette Brand said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA is cutting red tape and streamlining private investment so we can be a better partner to America’s rural leaders in building prosperity, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”

As part of a series of regulatory reforms effective today, USDA has officially eliminated duplicative processes and has launched a common loan guarantee application for the following programs:

• Water and Waste Disposal Loan Guarantee Program;
• Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program;
• Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program; and
• Rural Energy for America Guaranteed Loan Program.

Through this initiative, the department has standardized requirements for credit reviews, loan processing, loan servicing and loss claims. These measures will make the application process simpler and faster for lenders.

USDA also is providing automatic approval to participate in all four programs to lenders in good standing who are supervised or created by state or federal regulatory agencies. This expands the base of eligible lenders for the four guaranteed loan programs.

Non-regulated lenders may seek approval to participate through a single certification process that will be valid for five years. To request approval, non-regulated lenders must submit a cover letter to onerdlenderapproval@usda.gov. Lenders may review a template for the cover letter and instructionson how to file requests.

USDA is hosting a webinar for lenders on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time to answer questions about the new processes under the initiative.

For more information on the regulatory changes and how to apply to the programs under this initiative, visit www.rd.usda.gov/onerdguarantee.

Background:

Today’s announcement comes as part of the Trump administration’s commitment to cut red tape and streamline regulations to increase private investment under the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative.

On July 13, 2020, Secretary Perdue announced that USDA released a final rule (PDF, 889 KB) to increase private investment in rural communities across the country by making it easier for lenders to access four USDA flagship loan guarantee programs.

On Sept. 1, 2020, USDA provided guarantee percentages, annual fees, periodic retention fees, and optional construction fees (PDF, 240 KB) to help lenders apply for the Department’s four flagship loan guarantee programs.

Interested parties may join the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative subscription list to receive updates from USDA on this initiative.

To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.

–USDA

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