The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has published a state-by-state listing of the initial lenders participating in the Main Street Lending Program, but only five financial institutions operating in New Hampshire have joined so far.
Authorized by the CARES Act, the Main Street Lending Program is designed for small- and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is being administered by the Boston Fed.
“We have seen thousands of businesses express interest in this program,” Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, said in a statement. “[W]ith lenders registered across the country, we can share an initial list of lenders accepting applications from new business customers under the program.”
The list includes lenders that are currently accepting applications from new business customers and that elected to be on the list. Participating lenders for New Hampshire are: Bangor Savings Bank, Bank of America, Citizens Bank, People’s United Bank and Santander Bank.
The Main Street Lending Program offers three options for lenders to join, all serving small- and mid-sized businesses of different sizes. For all three options, the Fed will purchase a 95 percent interest in the loan, while the lender retains 5 percent of the loan. Lenders use their own underwriting standards to evaluate a borrower’s financial condition and creditworthiness.
The program offers five-year term loans, with principal payments deferred until year three, and interest payments deferred until year two. To support a wide variety of businesses, the loans range in size from $250,000 to $300 million.
“Now that the program is fully operational and ready to purchase loan participations, we encourage more lenders to register,” Rosengren added. “The list of participating lenders is likely to grow as more and more banks register.”
The Boston Fed also encouraged borrowers to contact their existing financial institution in addition to those on the list about the Main Street program.
