The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on Monday announced that the Main Street Lending Program is now fully operational, ready to purchase participations in eligible loans that are submitted to the program by registered lenders.  The Federal Reserve encourages lenders to begin submitting qualifying loans.

“This is an important milestone for the Main Street program,” said Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, which is administering the program for the Federal Reserve System. “Given the pandemic’s shock to the economy, and its uncertain duration, support for businesses and their employees through bank lending is critical.”

This article analyzes the conflict between federal and state marijuana laws, and its impact on the inability of state-legal marijuana businesses to obtain traditional and fundamental types of banking services from federally insured banks. This article is divided into three parts: (i) an explanation of the conflict of state and federal marijuana laws; (ii) the effect of the conflicting laws on the decision of banking institutions to provide services to state-licensed marijuana businesses; and (iii) congressional and judicial attempts to resolve the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

This is the second article in a three-part installment about the banking dilemma for state-licensed marijuana businesses in the United States.

J.P. Morgan, Bank of Montreal and Goldman Sachs acted as Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Arrangers on the Facility. J.P. Morgan is the Administrative Agent on the Facility with Bank of Montreal and Goldman Sachs as Co-Syndication Agents. Additional details on the credit agreement may be found in the Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This article analyzes the conflict between federal and state marijuana laws, and its impact on the inability of state-legal marijuana businesses to obtain traditional and fundamental types of banking services from federally insured banks. This article is divided into three parts: (i) an explanation of the conflict of state and federal marijuana laws; (ii) the effect of the conflicting laws on the decision of banking institutions to provide services to state-licensed marijuana businesses; and (iii) congressional and judicial attempts to resolve the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

This is the first article in a three-part installment about the banking dilemma for state-licensed marijuana businesses in the United States.

SFNet’s recent Virtual International Lending Conference offered insight on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis from geopolitical risk consultant, David Chmiel, co-founder/managing director, Global Torchlight; Marc Finer, director, Debt Advisory Group, KMPG LLP; Scott Fuller, director, Valuations, Gordon Brothers; Richard Hawkins, CEO, AtlanticRMS and Robert Horak, managing director, Lincoln International.  David Morse, partner, Otterbourg P.C. and Richard Kohn, principal, Goldberg Kohn Ltd. served as conference moderators.

The financing was arranged on behalf of project sponsor Idemitsu Renewables (formerly Solar Frontier Americas), a leading solar project developer that has successfully built and sold hundreds of megawatts of utility-scale solar power since 2015. The project will sell power to Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA), a nonprofit electric distribution cooperative based in Sedalia, Colorado.

Yieldstreet, the digital wealth management platform, announced continued growth today with the launch of a new asset class vertical, Private Business Credit. The new vertical becomes Yieldstreet’s fifth asset class, along with its Real Estate, Legal, Marine, and Art verticals. Yieldstreet named industry veterans Larry L. Curran II and Barbara Anderson to lead the Private Business Credit vertical. Curran will serve as Managing Director and Anderson will serve as Senior Director and Head of Underwriting.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that CIT Northbridge Credit, through its investment advisor CIT Asset Management LLC, served as sole lead arranger on a $20 million senior secured credit facility for Marquis Construction Services LLC.

Headquartered in Clute, Texas, Marquis Construction Services is a multi-disciplined, soft-craft provider of industrial and construction services, including scaffolding, insulation, sandblasting and painting, environmental abatement, fireproofing and industrial siding.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Company, Lazard Ltd. is serving as the Company's investment banker, and Berkeley Research Group is serving as the Company's financial advisor.

The Extended Term Loan Lenders are represented by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as legal counsel and Ducera Partners LLC as investment banker.

In response to the newly passed Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, SFNet issued a letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, SBA Administrator Carranza and Members of Congress reiterating its calls to make secured lenders and factors eligible as borrowers under the Paycheck Protection Program Interim Final Rule, noting that these institutions ”who are a critical conduit of capital flows for our economy are now facing material economic hardship, not only from reduced economic activity, but by the displacement of revenue streams due to the success of PPP!”

Under Section 1106 of the CARES Act, Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans can be forgiven, in whole or part, under certain conditions.  The SBA has continued to release guidance with respect to the lender review process for loan forgiveness applications, most recently in the form of an Interim Final Rule published May 22, 2020. 

This new rule, the SBA Loan Review Procedures and Related Borrower and Lender Responsibilities (“Loan Review Process IFR”), provides important additional guidance with respect to a lender’s responsibilities for processing loan forgiveness applications in a timely and compliant manner.  The rule also describes the circumstances under which a lender may lose its processing fee, and potentially, the loan guaranty. 

While further guidance is expected, the Loan Review IFR outlines the general process for submission and processing of the loan forgiveness applications.

The latest chapter of the PPP was just written with the enactment of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 on Friday, June 5, 2020. 

There is a lot of good news in the new PPP “Flexibility Act” for those borrowers in the portfolios of asset-based lenders that have received or still expect to receive a PPP loan. Here are few of the changes that will have significant benefits for PPP borrowers.