7 CFR § 1786.35 - Loss, theft, destruction, mutilation, or defacement of RUS guarantee.

(a) Authorized representative. Except where the evidence of debt was or is a bearer instrument, the RUS Administrator is authorized on behalf of RUS to issue a replacement guarantee(s) for one(s) which may have been lost, stolen, destroyed, mutilated, or defaced. Such replacement(s) shall be issued only to the lender or holder and only upon receipt of an acceptable certificate of loss and an indemnity bond.

(b) Requirements. When a guarantee(s) is lost, stolen, destroyed, mutilated, or defaced while in the custody of the lender, or holder, the lender will coordinate the activities of the party who seeks the replacement documents and will submit the required documents to RUS for processing. The requirements for replacement are as follows:

(1) A certificate of loss properly notarized which includes:

(i) Legal name and present address of the owner, requesting the replacement forms;

(ii) Legal name and address of lender of record;

(iii) Capacity of person certifying;

(iv) Full identification of the guarantee, including the name of the borrower, date of the guarantee, face amount of the evidence of debt purchased, date of evidence of debt and present balance of the loan. Any existing parts of the documents to be replaced should be attached to the certificate;

(v) A full statement of circumstances of the loss, theft, or destruction of the guarantee; and

(vi) The lender or holder, shall present evidence demonstrating current ownership of the guarantee and note. If the present holder is not the same as the original lender, a copy of the endorsement of each successive holder in the chain of transfer from the initial private lender to present holder shall be included. If copies of the endorsement cannot be obtained, best available records of transfer shall be presented to RUS (e.g., order confirmation, cancelled checks, etc).

(2) An indemnity bond acceptable to RUS shall accompany the request for replacement except when the holder is the United States, a Federal Reserve Bank, a Federal Government Corporation, a state or territory, or the District of Columbia. The bond may be with or without surety. The bond shall be with surety except when the outstanding principal balance and accrued interest due the present holder is less than $1,000,000 verified by the lender in writing in a letter of certification of balance due. The surety shall be a qualified surety company holding a certificate of authority from the Secretary of the Treasury and listed in Treasury Department Circular 580.

(3) All indemnity bonds shall be issued and/or payable to the United States of America acting through the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service. The bond shall be in an amount not less than the unpaid principal and interest. The bond shall save RUS harmless against any claim or demand which might arise or against any damage, loss, costs, or expenses which might be sustained or incurred by reasons of the loss or replacement of the instruments.