Finance and Loans Board

16. The Rev Tim Foster asked -

How many parishes currently have loans with the Finance and Loans Board?

1. What is the total value of these loans?
2. How many parishes have defaulted on a Finance and Loans Board loan in the past 10 years?
3. Is there a business plan for the proposed Diocesan Development Fund? If so, has it been reviewed by any of the following bodies:
   1. The Ministry Task Force
   2. The Standing Committee
   3. The Finance and Loans Board 
      And will it be available for the Synod?

To which the President replied -

I am advised that the answers are as follows –

1. As at 30 September 2005, there were 64 loans.
2. As at 30 September 2005, the values of these loans were $7,066,252 (principal balance outstanding).
3. The term “default” is an ambiguous term.
   
   If the term default means “the number of parishes over the last 10 years that failed to make any payment by the due date” then we do not have ready access to this information.
   
   If the term default means “the parishes that, under their current repayment schedule will not have fully repaid their loans by the agreed maturity date”, then under this definition as at 30 September 2005, 25 parishes (40% of the number of parish loans), equating to $3,513,686 (or 52% of the value of FLB Loans) were in “default”.
   
   Most of these “defaults” are in accordance with Finance and Loans Board practice of not increasing the parish loan repayments for increases in interest rates during the term of loan, except by agreement of the parish at loan review.
   
   If the term default means “loss of capital to the Finance and Loans Board”, then there have been no loans that have had to be written off over the last 10 years.
4. There is a business plan for the proposed Diocesan Development Fund dealing with issues such as purpose, organizational structure, regulatory control, capital adequacy, legal, credit, marketing and financial.
   
   The Glebe Administration Board reviewed and approved the business plan together with other major initiatives on 29 July 2005.
   
   The Business Plan itself is a Glebe Board responsibility and so it has not been reviewed by the Mission Task Force, the Standing Committee or the Finance and Loans Board. The Mission Task Force has reviewed parts of the strategy that relate to the idea of joining FLB into GAM. The business plan will not be presented to Synod.