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Federal Reserve Bank OF DALLAS ROBERT D. M c T E E R , J R . P R E S ID E N T AND C H IE F E X E C U T IV E O F F IC E R April 9, 1993 DALLAS, TEXAS 7 5 2 2 2 Notice 93-44 TO: The Chief Executive Officer of each member bank and others concerned in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District SUBJECT Interagency Policy Statement on Credit Availability DETAILS The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Office of Thrift Supervision have announced further details on the implementation of their March 10, 1993, program to increase credit availabil ity. The policy statement outlines changes in the area of loan documentation. The strongest banks and thrifts, those with regulatory ratings of 1 or 2 and with adequate capital, will now be able to make and carry some loans to small- and medium-sized businesses and farms with only minimal documenta tion. The total of such loans at an institution will be limited to an amount equal to 20 percent of its total capital. Eligible banks and thrifts will be encouraged to make these based on their own best judgment as to the credit worthiness of the loans and the necessary documentation. These loans will be evaluated solely on the basis of performance and will be exempt from examiner criticism of documentation. Each minimal documentation loan is subject to a maximum loan size of $900,000 or 3 percent of the lending institution’s total capital, whichever is less. If a borrower has multiple loans in the exempt portion of the portfo lio, those loans must be aggregated before the maximum is applied. Loans to institution insiders— executive officers, directors, and principal sharehold ers and their related interests— are ineligible for inclusion, as are loans that are already delinquent. The package also offers some relief for banks that do not qualify for the program and for loans that are not in the exempt portion of a bank’s portfolio. The policy statement also includes guidelines that provide institutions some flexibility in applying their documentation policies for small- and medium-sized business and farm loans without examiner criticism. For additional copies, bankers and others are encouraged to use one of the following toll-free numbers in contacting the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas: Dallas Office (800) 333-4460; El Paso Branch Intrastate (800) 592-1631, Interstate (800) 351-1012; Houston Branch Intrastate (800) 392-4162, Interstate (800) 221-0363; San Antonio Branch Intrastate (800) 292-5810. This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org) - 2 - The agencies’ initiatives are directed at eliminating unnecessary documentation and reducing costs to lending institutions and the time it takes to respond to credit applications. The Office of Thrift Supervision will soon issue a regulation to amend its current loan documentation requirements to comply with the statement. For banks, the program requires no change in existing regulations and is effective immediately. ATTACHMENT The interagency policy statement on documentation of loans is attached. MORE INFORMATION For more information, please contact Basil Asaro at (214) 922-6066. For additional copies of this Bank’s notice, please contact the Public Affairs Department at (214) 922-5254. Sincerely yours, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Reserve Board Office of Thrift Supervision Interagency Policy Statement on Documentation for Loans to Small- and Medium-sized Businesses and Farms March 30, 1993 Introduction Problems with the availability of credit over the last few years have been especially significant in the area of small- and medium-sized business and farm lending. This reluctance to lend may be attributed to many factors, including general trends in the economy; a desire by both borrowing and lending institutions to improve their balance sheets; the adoption of more rigorous underwriting standards after the losses associated with some laxities in the 1980s; the relative attractiveness of other types of investments; the impact of higher capital requirements, supervisory policies, and examination practices; and the increase in regulation mandated by recent legislation — specifically, the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act. The four federal banking agencies — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Office of Thrift Supervision — expect small- and medium-sized business and farm loans, like all credits, to be made consistent with sound underwriting policies and loan administration procedures. The agencies are concerned, however, that institutions may perceive that the agencies are requiring a level of documentation to support sound small- and medium-sized business and farm loans that is in excess of what is necessary to making a sound credit decision. Unnecessary documentation raises the cost of lending to small- and medium-sized businesses and farms, results in delays in bank lending decisions, and may discourage good borrowers from applying. The agencies believe that the elimination of unnecessary documentation for loans to small- and medium-sized businesses and farms will reduce costs to the institution and the time it takes to respond to credit applications from small- and medium-sized businesses and farms without adversely affecting the institution’s safety and soundness. The federal banking agencies expect financial institutions to maintain documentation standards that are consistent with prudent banking policies. However, the maintenance of documentation beyond that necessary for a credit officer to make a sound credit decision and to justify that decision to the institution’s management adds to loan administration costs without improving the credit quality of the institution. Unnecessary documentation impedes the institution from responding in a timely and prudent maimer to the legitimate credit needs of small- and medium sized businesses and farms in its community. Accordingly, the agencies are taking steps to correct any misunderstanding of regulatory requirements and to reduce regulatory impediments to lending to creditworthy small- and medium-sized businesses and farms. Documentation Exemption for Small- and Medium-sized Business and Farm Loans Well- or adequately capitalized institutions with a satisfactory supervisory rating will be permitted to identify a portion of their portfolio of small- and medium-sized business and farm loans that will be evaluated solely on performance and will be exempt from examiner criticism of documentation. While bank and thrift management will retain responsibility for the credit quality assessment and loan loss allowance for these loans, the lending institution will not be subject to criticism for the documentation of these loans. This exemption will be available only to institutions that are well- or adequately capitalized institutions under each agency’s regulations implementing section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and that are rated CAMEL or MACRO 1 or 2. These institutions are by definition those that have demonstrated sound judgment and good underwriting skills; moreover, their strong capital position insulates the deposit insurance funds from potential losses that may be incurred through small- and medium-sized business and farm lending. To qualify for the exemption, each loan may not exceed the lesser of $900,000 or three percent of the institution’s total capital, and the aggregate value of the loans may not exceed 20 percent of its total capital. In addition, loans selected for this exemption by an institution must not be delinquent as of the selection date, and each institution must comply with applicable lending limits and other laws and regulations in making these loans. Furthermore, such loans may not be made to an insider. Small- and medium-sized business and farm loans that do not meet the criteria for exemption set forth in this policy statement would continue to be reviewed and classified in accordance with the agencies’ existing policies. The details of the exemption are as follows: • D ocum entation exem ption. Each institution eligible for the exemption provided in this policy statement may assign eligible loans, subject to the aggregate limit on such eligible loans, to an exempt portion of the portfolio. Loans assigned to this exempt portion will not be reviewed for the completeness of their documentation during the examination of the institution. Assignments of loans to the exempt portion shall be made in writing, and an aggregate list or accounting segregation of the assigned loans shall be maintained, including the performance status of each loan. • R estrictions on loans in the exem pted portion of th e portfolio. The institution must fully evaluate the collectibility o f these loans in determining the adequacy of its allowance for loan and lease losses (ALLL) or general valuation allowance (GVA) attributable to such loans and include this evaluation in its internal records of its assessment of the adequacy of its ALLL or GVA. Once a loan in the exempt portion of the portfolio becomes more than 60 days past due, the loan may be reviewed and classified by an examiner; however, any decision to classify would be based on credit quality and not on the level of documentation. • Eligible institutions. An institution is eligible for the documentation exemption if (1) pursuant to the regulations adopted by the appropriate federal banking agency under section 38 of the FDI Act, the institution qualifies as well- or adequately capitalized, and (2) during its most recent report of examination, the institution was assigned a composite CAMEL or MACRO rating of 1 or 2. • Ineligible loans. Loans to any executive officer, director, or principal shareholder of the institution, or any related interest of that person, may not be included in the basket of loans. • A ggregate lim it on loans. The aggregate value of all loans assigned to the basket of loans provided for in the exemption may not exceed 20 percent of the institution’s total capital (as defined in the capital adequacy standards of the appropriate agency). • Lim it on value of individual loan. A loan, or group of loans to one borrower, assigned to the basket of loans provided for in the exemption may not exceed $900,000 or 3 percent of the institution’s total capital (as defined in the capital adequacy standards of the appropriate agency), whichever is the smaller amount. • T ransition from eligibility to ineligibility. An institution that has properly assigned loans to the exempt portion of its portfolio pursuant to this statement but subsequently fails to qualify as an eligible institution may not add new loans (including renewals) to this category. Treatment of Small- and Medium-sized Business and Farm Loans Not Qualifying for Exemption The agencies will continue current examination practices with regard to documentation of smalland medium-sized business and farm loans at institutions not qualifying for the exemption and loans at qualifying institutions that are not assigned to the exempt basket. The guiding principle of agency review will continue to be that each insured depository institution should maintain documentation that provides its management with the ability to: (a) make an informed lending decision and to assess risk as necessary on an ongoing basis; (b) identify the purpose of the loan and the source of repayment; (c) assess the ability of the borrower to repay the indebtedness in a timely manner; (d) ensure that a claim against the borrower is legally enforceable; and (e) demonstrate appropriate administration and monitoring of a loan. In prescribing the documentation necessary to support a loan, an institution’s policies should take into account the size and complexity of the loan, legal requirements, and the needs of management and other relevant parties (such as loan guarantors). In applying these standards, the agencies will continue to recognize the difficulty and cost of obtaining some documents from small- and medium-sized businesses and farms. These difficulties and costs could result in some deviations from an institution’s own loan documentation policy for small- and medium-sized business and farm lending. Such deviations are frequently based on past experience with the customer. In such cases, the loan will not be criticized if the examiner concurs that sufficient information exists to serve as a basis for an informed credit decision. Implementation This policy statement will take effect immediately upon issuance. However, the agencies will monitor how qualifying institutions implement its provisions and how those institutions and the loans they designate for inclusion in the exempt basket perform. Changes to this policy statement may be made based on the agencies’ experience.
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