(a) Definition. For the purposes of this section, “secured third-party debt” means any debt that is secured by any of your assets and not guaranteed by the Agency, including secured guarantees and other contingent obligations that you voluntarily assume and secured lines of credit.

(b) General rule. You must get the Agency's written approval before you incur any secured third-party debt or refinance any debt with secured third-party debt, including any renewal of a secured line of credit, increase in the maximum amount available under a secured line of credit, or expansion of the scope of a security interest or lien. For purposes of this paragraph (b), “expansion of the scope of a security interest or lien” does not include the substitution of one asset or group of assets for another, provided the asset values (as reported on your most recent annual SBA Form 468 or other USDA-approved form(s)) are comparable.

(c) Conditions for approval. As a condition of granting its approval under this section, the Agency may impose such restrictions or limitations as it deems appropriate, taking into account your historical performance, current financial position, proposed terms of the secured debt and amount of aggregate debt you will have outstanding (including Leverage). The Agency will not favorably consider any requests for approval which include a blanket lien on all your assets, or a security interest in your investor commitments in excess of 125 percent of the proposed borrowing.

(d) Thirty-day approval. Unless the Agency notifies you otherwise within 30 days after it receives your request, you may consider your request automatically approved if: