Credit Guarantee Act 2012

Power of Minister to give guarantees.

4.— (1) Subject to this section, the Minister may, in accordance with a credit guarantee scheme, enter into an agreement with a participating lender guaranteeing the due repayment to that participating lender of such part of the principal of moneys borrowed from that lender by participating borrowers pursuant to qualifying loan agreements as is specified in the first-mentioned agreement.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister shall not, pursuant to a guarantee under this section, be liable, in relation to any particular qualifying loan agreement, to pay an amount exceeding 75 per cent of the principal of moneys borrowed pursuant to that agreement for the time being standing unpaid.

(3) The Minister shall not exercise the powers conferred on him or her by this section in such manner as would result in his or her being liable, in respect of moneys borrowed in any year from a participating lender pursuant to qualifying loan agreements, to pay to that participating lender amounts the aggregate of which would exceed 10 per cent of the aggregate of the principal of those moneys.

(4) (a) The Minister shall not exercise the powers conferred on him or her by this section in such manner as would result in the aggregate of the principal of all loans made pursuant to qualifying loan agreements entered into in any year and to which guarantees under this section apply exceeding €150 million.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, a loan is deemed to have been made on the date of the making of the qualifying loan agreement concerned whether or not, pursuant to that agreement, the loan is payable on a later date or the happening of a subsequent event.

(5) The Minister may notify a participating lender in writing that an agreement entered into by the Minister with the participating lender under this section shall not apply in relation to qualifying loan agreements (in this section referred to as “new loan agreements”) entered into by the participating lender after such date as may be specified in the notice.

(6) An agreement under this section shall not apply to new loan agreements.