Finance Committee to consider $15 million lending bill with no qualified lenders. Allows generous fees.

Friday’s finance committee public hearing agenda includes a bill authorizing $15 million in bonding “for the purpose of providing grants-in-aid to business and industrial development corporations” as defined by the state’s banking laws. Those non-bank banks, known in the state’s banking department as Bidcos, will use the funds “to provide assistance to minority-owned and women- owned small businesses serving or seeking to serve underserved or minority communities.”

Any participating Bidco “may use up to ten per cent in the aggregate of the amount of such grant-in-aid for operational costs and to fund a loan loss reserve fund.” No Bidco may receive more than $5 million in the authorized funds.

The absence of lenders is a hurdle that the legislation ignores. According to Department of Banking spokesman Matthew Smith, there are no business and industrial development corporations licensed by the state. There hasn’t been one, according to Smith, for several years. The last one, the regulatory agency’s website reveals, was Business Lenders, LLC, is incorporated in Delaware and maintains its office in Hartford.

Business Lenders, LLC’s president and chief executive officer is Penn Ritter, former clerk of the House of Representatives, brother former Speaker of the House Thomas Ritter and uncle of the current speaker, Matthew Ritter.

Published April 14, 2023.