March 15, 2023
Twain Financial Partners obtained a lending license from the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), setting it apart from its competitors by allowing Twain to serve as a single-source capital deployer for qualifying projects.
The USDA license gives Twain the ability to participate in the department’s nationwide OneRD Guaranteed Loan Initiative designed to encourage investment in rural areas and towns with a population of 50,000 or less.
“I cannot overstate the significance of this license in being able to deliver a full suite of financing options for rural projects,” said Michael Park, Director of Renewable Energy Originations at Twain. “We can serve as the senior debt partner for qualifying projects, making Twain one of the few firms that can offer long-term financing in the current market environment.”
Initially, Twain intends to focus on lending to renewable energy and commercial real estate projects through OneRD’s Rural Energy (REAP) and Business Industry (B&I) programs. Utilizing the USDA license for REAP lending will support Twain’s ambitions of reaching $1 billion in new funding by 2025.
The USDA programs allow lenders to provide fully amortizing loans up to $25 million, and at times, they can be paired together for a total debt commitment of $50 million. Amortizations can be up to 25 years for commercial real estate projects and up to 30 years for solar.
Charles Roberts, Director of Renewable Energy Operations, and Brian Arnold, Vice President Investments, join Park in Twain’s USDA lending efforts. Prior to joining Twain, both Park and Roberts worked for Live Oak Bank, the nation’s largest USDA commercial lender by volume in 2019 and 2020.
“We have the team and the USDA lending experience,” Park said. “And now, we have the ability to fully utilize that experienced team to deliver complete financing solutions for our clients.”