wfn.org | NEW INVESTMENT AND LOAN CORPORATION ELECTS

[PCUSA_NEWS@ecunet.org]

17-Aug-95

95287      NEW INVESTMENT AND LOAN CORPORATION ELECTS  
           OFFICERS FOR ITS INTERIM BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
 
                         By Julian Shipp 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Authorized by the 207th General Assembly to build a $500 
million capital loan fund by the year 2000, the Presbyterian Church 
(U.S.A.) Investment and Loan Program, Inc. has elected officers for its 
interim board of directors. 
 
     Officers for the new corporation, which was approved after nearly a 
year of extensive development, are Anne Stelle of Chicago, chair; Alvin 
Pruyear of New York City, vice chair; Stelle, interim president; Carolyn 
Shain of Louisville, Ky., secretary; and G.A. "Pat" Goff of Louisville, 
Ky., treasurer. The position for vice president is open at this time. 
 
     The officers were elected Aug. 13 during a meeting between the New 
Funds Development for Church Loans Team and the transition board of the 
PC(USA) Investment and Loan Program, Inc.  
 
     Remaining transition board members previously elected by the General 
Assembly Council are Duane Black of Yucaipa, Calif.; Michael Harreld of 
Louisville, Ky.; Sandra Hawley of Bloomington, Minn.; and Richard Lohrer of 
Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. Although they will serve a one-year term, all 
are eligible for nomination to the 15-member permanent board, which will be 
elected next year. 
      
     The loan fund program, proposed first by the Presbyterian Foundation 
and already in use by several mainline denominations, involves issuing 
"investment certificates" to Presbyterian investors at "competitive rates" 
and using the invested funds to provide below-market rate loans to church 
institutions for capital needs. 
 
     According to Terry Young, who helped develop the Foundation's original 
proposal, the financial principle of the program is simple: the corporation 
offers loans at 2-3 percent interest higher than the interest it pays on 
the investments. The "spread" pays the cost of the program and generates 
additional mission dollars. 
 
     The denomination's current church loan fund is slightly over $100 
million, with much of the money heavily restricted. A line of credit up to 
$227,367 from the Church Loan Fund will be extended to the corporation in 
1995 and additional line of credit source alternatives for future years 
will be presented for action during the September GAC meeting. 
 
     According to program officials, the corporation will report to the 
General Assembly through the GAC and will work through Corporate and 
Administrative Services, the National Ministries Division and its associate 
for Evangelism and Church Development. 
 
     "I think this is one of the most important things this denomination 
has ever done," said the Rev.  Rosalie Potter, one of the joint team 
members from Orlando, Fla. 
 
     Stelle said one of the corporation's main priorities at this point is 
to conduct a "rigorous" survey and marketing program to see what the 
current interest level is among potential investors and, if favorable, 
provide comprehensive information on the program to volunteers, committees, 
and employees in synods and presbyteries. The board members strongly 
agreed. 
 
     "If we're going to have $500 million over three years, we've got to do 
some serious marketing of the loan program," Hawley said. 
 
     "Somehow we need to create a clear and consistent message to go out to 
our synods and presbyteries," Puryear said. 
      
     Even so, Lohrer said caution is also warranted. Referring to this 
year's financial scandal in the Episcopal Church in which a former 
treasurer embezzled $2.2 million, Lohrer strongly recommended that 
financial controls be written in the corporation's by-laws to prevent any 
one person from abusing the funds. Goff suggested one way to eliminate this 
possibility would be to require two people to sign checks over a specified 
amount. 
 
     "I don't want a situation where one person can sign checks and have 
access to the funds in this corporation," Lohrer said. 
 
 

------------
For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
  Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, KY 40202
  phone 502-569-5504            fax 502-569-8073  
  E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org   Web page: http://www.pcusa.org 

--