(1) Commercial lending institutions making
loans for UST project work may qualify to receive an interest rate payment from
the USTCCA Fund.
(2) The interest
rate payment shall be paid to the lender quarterly in arrears, and shall equal
the difference in finance charges between the borrower's rate and the lender's
rate. The borrower's rate shall equal the total finance charges charged to the
borrower by the lender during a calendar quarter, including interest on the
loan at the rate shown on the reduced interest rate certificate as the
borrower's rate, and interest charged the borrower on any loan fee. The
commercial lending institution shall select the method of calculation the
lender's rate from subsection (a) or (b) of this section, and shall notify the
Department of the selection prior issuing the loan. Once selected, the lender
may not change the method of calculating the lender's rate. The lender's rate,
as calculated in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, shall be deemed to
equal the total finance charges which would have been charged to the borrower
during the calendar quarter by the lender, including interest on the loan and
any loan fee:
(a) Fixed Rate Option. Under
the fixed rate option, the lender's rate shall remain constant throughout the
life of the loan. The lender's rate shall be an annual rate equal to the sum of
the ten year Treasury constant maturities interest rate for the week
immediately preceding the date of the initial note, plus the following:
(A) Three percent (3.0%) for loans with a
term which does not exceed four years;
(B) Three and one quarter percent (3.25%) for
loans with a term which is more than four years and does not exceed eight
years;
(C) Three and three quarter
percent (3.75%) for loans with a term which is more than eight years and does
not exceed 12 years;
(D) Four and
one half percent (4.5%) for loans with a term which is more than 12 years and
does not exceed 16 years;
(E) Five
and one half percent (5.5%) for loans with a term which is more than 16 years
and does not exceed 20 years; or
(F) Six and three quarters percent (6.75%)
for loans with a term of exactly 20 years.
(b) Adjusted Fixed Rate Option. Under the
adjusted fixed rate option, the lender's interest rate shall adjust, as
provided in this subsection:
(A) For a loan
with a term which does not exceed three years, the lender's interest rate shall
be equal to the ten year Treasury constant maturities interest rate for the
week immediately preceding the initial date of the loan, plus three
percent;
(B) Where a loan has a
term of more than three years and does not exceed six years, a new lender's
interest rate shall be calculated by adding three percent to the ten year
Treasury constant maturities interest rate for the week immediately preceding
the start of the fourth year but in no case shall the lender's interest rate be
more than one percentage point above or below the lender's interest rate
calculated in paragraph (2)(b)(A) of this rule;
(C) Where a loan has a term of more than six
years and does not exceed nine years, a new lender's interest rate shall be
calculated by adding three percent to the ten year Treasury constant maturities
interest rate for the week immediately preceding the start of the seventh year
but in no case shall the lender's interest rate be more than one percentage
point above or below the lender's interest rate calculated in paragraph
(2)(b)(B) of this rule;
(D) Where a
loan has a term of more than nine years and does not exceed 12 years, a new
lender's interest rate shall be calculated by adding three percent to the ten
year Treasury constant maturities interest rate for the week immediately
preceding the start of the tenth year but in no case shall the lender's
interest rate be more than one percentage point above or below the lender's
interest rate calculated in paragraph (2)(b)(C) of this rule;
(E) Where a loan has a term of more than 12
years and does not exceed 15 years, a new lender's interest rate shall be
calculated by adding three percent to the ten year Treasury constant maturities
interest rate for the week immediately preceding the start of the 13th year but
in no case shall the lender's interest rate be more than one percentage point
above or below the lender's interest rate calculated in paragraph (2)(b)(D) of
this rule;
(F) Where a loan has a
term of more than 15 years and does not exceed 18 years, a new lender's
interest rate shall be calculated by adding three percent to the ten year
Treasury constant maturities interest rate for the week immediately preceding
the start of the 16th year but in no case shall the lender's interest rate be
more than one percentage point above or below the lender's interest rate
calculated in paragraph (2)(b)(E) of this rule;
(G) Where a loan has a term of more than 18
years and does not exceed 20 years, a new lender's interest rate shall be
calculated by adding three percent to the ten year Treasury constant maturities
interest rate for the week immediately preceding the start of the 19th year but
in no case shall the lender's interest rate be more than one percentage point
above or below the lender's interest rate calculated in paragraph (2)(b)(F) of
this rule.
(c) The ten
year Treasury constant maturities interest rate means the rate of that name as
indicated in Federal Reserve statistical release H.15. Federal Reserve
statistical release H.15 is released each Monday and is available on the
Bloomberg data system. The ten year Treasury constant maturities interest rate
for each week may be obtained from the Department.
(3) A commercial lending institution may be
paid for interest if:
(a) The borrower pays
the annual rate shown on the reduced interest rate certificate;
(b) The loan is amortized with equal payments
over the term of the loan.
NOTE:To assure that funds are available from the
UST Compliance and Corrective Action Fund (USTCCAF) to pay reduced interest
rates during the life of the loan, it is necessary for most loans to have equal
payments over the term of the loan. The Department, however, recognizes that
the lending policies may differ between commercial lending institutions and may
differ between individual loans, particularly during construction. The
Department is willing to consider other loan arrangements and other loan
repayment schedules subsequent to the initial loan, such as multiple loans and
loan refinancing where the interest rate payment conserves the USTCCAF monies
so that all qualified interest rate payments are paid in full. Each new loan
arrangement may be approved by the Department on a case by case basis. The
final maturity date of the loan may not exceed 20 years from the initial note
date.
(c) The loan maturity
date does not exceed 20 years from the initial closing date;
(d) The borrower has received a reduced
interest rate confirmation letter; and
(e) The loan applicant or the commercial
lending institution has provided the terms of the loan to the Department. The
terms of the loan include but are not limited to:
(A) Amount of loan;
(B) The interest rate calculated in section
(2) of this rule;
(C) Reduced
interest rate to the borrower; and
(D) The term of the loan from the initial
note date.
(4) Only one reduced interest rate
certificate may be issued to each facility location. Individual tanks at a
facility location with multiple tanks are not eligible for a separate interest
rate certificate per tank.
(5)
Interest rate payments are limited to loans for UST project work where the loan
is provided by a commercial lending institution.
(6) An interest rate payment may be paid on
loans provided by a commercial lending institution that are not guaranteed by
the Department where the borrower has received a reduced interest rate
certificate from the Department.
(7) The commercial lending institution shall
bill the Department for the interest rate reimbursement each calendar
quarter.
(8) An applicant may
receive a reduced interest rate certificate at more than one facility
location.
(9) An interest rate
payment may not be made on grant funds, described in OAR Chapter 340, Division
175.
(10) The payment of the
interest rate reimbursements is subject to monies being allocated and being
available from the Underground Storage Tank Compliance and Corrective Action
Fund.