Federal Financial Assistance Requirements for Exporters, Sellers, and U.S. Financial Institutions Participating in the GSM-102 and Facility Guarantee Programs (FGP): Registration in SAM and Reporting Executive Compensation and Subawards

  |   Program Notices

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issues guidance on federal financial assistance through Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Certain Title 2 guidance applies to recipients of federal loan guarantees, including guarantees issued under USDA’s GSM-102 Export Credit Guarantee Program and Facility Guarantee Program (FGP). 

FAS is issuing this notice to advise and remind Exporters, Sellers, and U.S. Financial Institutions participating in the GSM-102 and FGP programs (hereafter referred to as “participants”) of existing requirements related to registering in SAM.gov and reporting executive compensation.  Additionally, effective October 7, 2024, participants will receive routine notification of these requirements:  Exporters and Sellers will receive this notification with each GSM-102 or FGP guarantee issued by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), and U.S. Financial Institutions will receive the notification when accepting a notice of assignment.

2 CFR Part 25:  Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)

In accordance with 2 CFR part 25 and the Notice to Participants issued by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) on February 9, 2022, each participant that applies to be qualified under the GSM-102 or FGP program must:

  1. Be registered in SAM prior to submitting a qualification application (under 7 CFR 1493.30 or 7 CFR 1493.40 for the GSM-102 Program, or 7 CFR 1493.220 or 7 CFR 1493.230 for the FGP Program); and
  2. Provide a valid unique entity identifier in the application; and
  3. Maintain an active registration in SAM with current information at all times during which the participant has an active Federal award or an application under consideration by CCC. 

Participants are reminded that Exporters and Sellers will be unable to receive payment guarantees, and U.S. financial institutions will be unable to take assignment of guarantees, if not in compliance with this requirement.  

2 CFR Part 170: Reporting Subaward and Executive Compensation Information

2 CFR Part 170 establishes guidance for recipients of Federal awards to report information on subawards and executive total compensation, as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-282), as amended by the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-101) and other Public Laws. 

Subawards

A “subaward” means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to contribute to the goals and objectives of the project by carrying out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity (2 CFR 200.1). A recipient who receives a Federal award directly from a Federal agency must report each subaward in the Federal Funding and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). Under the GSM-102 and FGP programs, the assignment of a payment guarantee to a U.S. Financial Institution does not constitute a subaward and need not be reported. Requirements for reporting subawards, if applicable, are found at 2 CFR 170 Appendix A.

Executive Compensation

In accordance with 2 CFR 170.105, GSM-102 and FGP participants are required to report executive compensation information if they meet the criteria found in 2 CFR 170.105(c). If required to report this information, participants must do so within their SAM registration profile at https://www.sam.gov within the timeframe specified in Appendix A (section (b)(2)) to 2 CFR 170. 

Each participant that applies to the GSM-102 or FGP program must ensure it has the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of 2 CFR part 170 should it receive a payment guarantee.

For questions or further information, see the guidance and regulations referenced in this notice or contact the Operations and Analysis Branch of the Foreign Agricultural Service by email at gsm.registrations@usda.gov.