IIB
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4481
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 3, 2021
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
AN ACT
To amend the Small Business Act to establish requirements for 7(a) agents, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Small Business 7(a) Loan Agent Transparency Act
.
Requirements for 7(a) agents
Office of Credit Risk Management Duties
Section 47(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657t(b)) is amended—
in paragraph (2), by striking and
at the end;
in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
any 7(a) agent.
.
Enforcement authority
Office of Credit Risk Management
Section 47(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657t(e)) is amended by inserting or 7(a) agent
after 7(a) lender
each place such term appears.
Lender Oversight Committee
Section 48(c)(2) of the Small Business Act is amended by striking and any Lending Partner or Intermediary participant
and inserting , any 7(a) agent (as defined in section 47), or any Lending Partner or Intermediary participant
.
Registration system
Section 47 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657t) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
Registration system for 7(a) agents
In general
The Director shall establish a registration system for 7(a) agents that assigns a unique identifier to each 7(a) agent and collects data necessary for the Director to submit the report required under paragraph (4).
Requirements
A 7(a) agent shall—
register in the system established under paragraph (1) before providing covered services to a lender or applicant; and
effective 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, submit an annual fee for such registration to the Director.
Database
The Director shall establish and maintain an electronic database of the types of covered services provided by each 7(a) agent.
Definitions
In this section:
7(a) agent
The term 7(a) agent means a person who provides covered services on behalf of a lender or applicant.
Covered services
The term covered services means—
assistance with completing an application for a loan under section 7(a) (including preparing a business plan, cash flow projections, financial statements, and related documents); or
consulting, broker, or referral services with respect to a loan under section 7(a).
.
Effective date
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives November 2, 2021.
Cheryl L. Johnson,
Clerk
