§ 279 - Vermont financial access fund
§ 279. Vermont financial access fund
(a) In order to stimulate lending to eligible businesses and thereby increase job opportunities for Vermont residents, the authority is authorized to create the Vermont financial access fund. The fund shall be a separate, nonlapsing fund, not subject to the provisions of subchapter 5 of chapter 7 of Title 32. Monies in the fund shall be used to reimburse participating banks for losses incurred on loans registered under this subchapter.
(b) To the fund shall be deposited all reserve premium payments made by participating banks, any appropriations made by the general assembly for the purposes of this subchapter, all income and recoveries derived from the operation of this program, including but not limited to proceeds from the liquidation of assets pledged as collateral for loans registered under this subchapter, and any other monies, grants, and contributions received by the authority with respect to this program. To the fund shall be charged all claims for reimbursement made by the participating banks pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section.
(c) The fund shall have a segregated account for each participating bank. To each segregated account shall be deposited, at the time a loan is originated by a participating bank, a reserve premium payment comprised of equal contributions from the participating bank and the borrower. The participating bank shall determine the amount of the reserve premium payment, but in no event shall the reserve premium payment be less than three percent nor more than seven percent of the original principal amount of the loan. Monies in each segregated account, in combination with the credit of the state pledged for such purposes, shall be available to reimburse the participating bank for losses experienced by such bank on loans it has registered pursuant to the contract authorized in section 279a of this title. (Added 1993, No. 89, § 7.)