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Certain lenders have been delegated the authority to make loan decisions without prior approval from SBA under certain circumstances. SBA has formalized such delegated authorities in this rule.  The rule makes several minor modifications to the 504 Loan Program and governance rules for Certified Development Company (CDC) in a follow-on to the Final Rule: 504 and 7(a) Loan Program Updates (March 21, 2014). The rule also aligns terminology for 7(a) lenders that are federally regulated to synchronize with existing industry requirements.  SBA is also making several other miscellaneous amendments to improve oversight and operations of its finance programs.   

This rule makes four changes to the Surety Bond Guarantee (SBG) Program.  The first changes the threshold for notification to SBA of changes in the contract or bond amount.  Second, the change requires sureties to submit quarterly contract completion reports.  Third, SBA is increasing the eligible contract limit for the Quick Bond Application and Agreement from $250,000 to $400,000.  Finally, the rule increases the guarantee percentage in the Preferred Surety Bond program to reflect the statutory change made by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016.  The guarantee percentage increases from 70 percent to 80 percent or 90 percent, depending on contract size and socioeconomic factors currently in effect in the Prior Approval Program.