§219-9  Direct loans.  (a)  Thedepartment of agriculture may make loans directly to qualified aquaculturistswho are unable to obtain sufficient funds at reasonable rates from privatelenders either independently or under section 219-7 or 219-8.  Loans made underthis section shall be authorized only if loans cannot be obtained from therelevant farm credit lender and two other private lenders.

(b)  Loans made under this section shall belimited by section 219-6.

(c)  Loans made under this section shall bearsimple interest on the unpaid principal balance, charged on the actual amountdisbursed.  The interest rate for class "A", class "B",class "C", and class "H" loans shall be set by rule,pursuant to chapter 91.

(d)  The department may contract with anyfinancial institution for services including servicing or administering loanspursuant to this section.

(e)  For purposes of this section,"financial institution" means any organization authorized to dobusiness under state or federal laws relating to financial institutions,including without limitation, banks, savings banks, savings and loan companiesor associations, financial services loan companies, and credit unions. [L 1995,c 76, §1; am L 1998, c 118, §8; am L 2008, c 209, §6]