(a) General. Rates will be negotiated between the lender and the borrower. They may be either fixed or variable rates. Interest rates will be those rates customarily charged borrowers in similar circumstances in the ordinary course of business and are subject to Agency review and approval.

(b) Variable rate publication. A variable interest rate must be tied to a base rate published periodically in a recognized national or regional financial publication specifically agreed to by the lender and borrower. Such an agreement must be documented in the borrower or lender loan agreement.

(1) Interest rate caps and incremental adjustment limitations will also be negotiated between the lender and the borrower. Notice of any interest rate change proposed by the lender should allow a sufficient time period for the borrower to obtain any required State or other regulatory approval and to implement any user rate adjustments necessary as a result of the interest rate change. The intervals between interest rate adjustments will be specified in the loan agreement (but not more often than quarterly).

(2) The lender must incorporate within the variable rate note, the provision for adjustment of payments coincident with an interest rate adjustment. This will ensure the outstanding principal balance is properly amortized within the prescribed loan maturity and eliminate the possibility of a balloon payment at the end of the loan.

(c) Changes. Any change in the interest rate between the date of issuance of the Conditional Commitment for Guarantee and before the issuance of the Loan Note Guarantee must be approved by the Agency. Approval of such change will be shown as an amendment to the Conditional Commitment for Guarantee.

(d) Different rates on guaranteed and unguaranteed portion of the loan. It is permissible to have one interest rate on the guaranteed portion of the loan and another interest rate on the unguaranteed portion of the loan, provided the lender and borrower agree, and:

(1) The rate on the unguaranteed portion does not exceed that currently being charged on loans for similar purposes to borrowers under similar circumstances; and

(2) The rate on the guaranteed portion of the loan will not exceed the rate on the unguaranteed portion. This requirement does not apply when the unguaranteed rate is variable and the guaranteed portion is fixed.

(e) Multi-rates. When multi-rates are used, the lender will provide the Agency with the overall effective interest rate for the entire loan. Multi-rate loans may be either fixed, variable, or a combination of fixed and variable.