Greater Commercial Lending Obligated More Than $811 Million in USDA-Guaranteed Loans in 2022
Greater Commercial Lending (GCL), which provides loans to businesses and organizations in under-served and rural communities, obligated more than $811 million in government-guaranteed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commercial loans during fiscal year 2022.
As one of the top USDA loan originators, GCL obligated loans across several USDA Rural Development (RD) guaranteed loan programs, including Business and Industry (B&I), Food Supply Chain (FSC), Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and Community Facilities (CF).
"It's gratifying to be able to help so many important and innovative businesses, initiatives and organizations in rural and under-served areas gain access to long-term credit solutions at terms that may not be available to them through traditional lending sources. The USDA's guaranteed loan program makes this possible, so we are thrilled to have been so active on the obligation front, beating our previous best from the last year. And we're looking to top it again in 2023," said Jeremy Gilpin, executive vice president of GCL. "We're happy to help worthy borrowers across the full breadth of the USDA loan program, from renewable energy to foodservice to sustainable agriculture and more."
GCL leverages relationships with nearly 200 U.S. financial institutions, including community banks and credit unions, to arrange USDA-guaranteed commercial loans at terms favorable for borrowers.
Among the many projects GCL helped finance in 2022: $112.6 million for New Rise Renewables Reno, a state-of-the-art renewable diesel plant that will turn feedstocks in diesel that burns clean; $50 million for AppHarvest for a high-tech indoor berry farm in Kentucky that will produce yields up to 30 times that of traditional agriculture while preventing pollution from agricultural runoff; and $73 million for two North Carolina facilities developed by EVENSOL that will turn gas from landfill emissions into renewable natural gas.