Purpose of this Notice : This notice is a Sources Sought Notice. It is for market research only, and is not a Request for Proposals. Responses to this Notice will allow the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain a better understanding of the marketplace and to make appropriate acquisition decisions. Agency Background : The SBA was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the Federal Government to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the Nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build, and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program Background : The SBA works with banks to provide loans to small businesses that might not otherwise be able to obtain financing. The 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program is authorized by Congress and is one of SBA's flagship efforts to expand small business access to capital. The 7(a) Loan Program is SBA's primary program for helping start-up and existing small businesses with guaranteed financing for a variety of general business purposes. The SBA does not make loans itself, but rather guarantees loans made by participating lending institutions. Secondary Market Background : Lenders who hold business loans guaranteed by the SBA's 7(a) Guaranty Loan Program may sell the guaranteed portions of those loans in the secondary market. The FTA administers the secondary market portion of this program. A particular lender first agrees to sell the 7(a) guaranteed portion of a particular loan to a particular Purchaser. The FTA administers the settlement of this sale. At settlement the Purchaser receives an SBA Guaranteed Interest Certificate. The Lender remains responsible for servicing its sold SBA-guaranteed loans. Guaranteed portions of payments are forwarded by Lenders to the FTA. Upon receipt of payment, the FTA handles the proper application and dispersal of the proceeds, and coordinates certificate record-keeping. The FTA also serves as the primary hub for the review and processing of SBA pool applications from approved SBA pool assemblers. The FTA, on behalf of the SBA, issues certificates representing interests in pools of SBA Guaranteed Interests. The FTA provides general administration of the Pools, which includes the processing of payments to Pool investors. This contract will provide all services related to the provision of SBA FTA functions for the secondary market program of the SBA 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program. The contract will include services associated with the receipt, verification, collection, and transmission of loan data and program fee payments tied to 7(a) Loan Program. Contract/Requirement Background : The SBA has a need for professional support of the secondary market for the 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program. Contractor will serve as the FTA and perform all FTA functions. See the attached draft Performance-Based Statement of Work (SOW) for contract description of the FTA roles, delineated tasks, and overall requirements and performance standards. The NAICS code for this requirement is 523991, Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities, with a size standard of $7 Million. The Product Service Code is R499, Support - Professional - Other. For this contractual need, the Contractor is compensated by firm-fixed fees generated from the loan activities and with interest earned on funds held prior to transmission - and not with appropriated dollars. The estimated value generated to the Contractor per year for this effort is $30.0 million to $35.0 million, but will vary depending on overall loan and secondary market activity. Contractor is not to provide any pricing information at this time. A new contract to support the 7(a) guaranteed loan program's secondary market is contemplated for a base year and four option years, to be awarded this fiscal year. It is expected that this contract will be competed full and open - due to the insurance, bonding, IT investment, security, and level-of-effort required to service the 7(a) guaranteed loans and the secondary market. However, the SBA is interested in better assessing the breadth of companies that can provide a high level of successful service as required by the SBA in the delivery of the defined functions in the SOW. It is expected that a solicitation for this contractual need will be issued on or about June 4, 2013. Response Requested : Contractor's response shall include the following information, in the following order: 1. The full name of Contractor, Contractor's DUNS number, address, two points-of-contact with both email addresses and telephone numbers; 2. Contractor's socio-economic status and the related NAICS codes for which Contractor is registered in the System for Award Management (SAM); 3. A description of Contractor's core business, including its core competencies and services it currently provides. 4. A Description of Contractor's relevant experience in performing services covered by NAICS code 523991. Include any relevant contract numbers, Government or business names of parties, periods of performance, and value of contract. Include any GSA Schedule or other Government contracting vehicle to which contractor is a schedule holder or party. For each contract reported, include whether Contractor was the Prime Contractor, the number of transactions performed in a typical 24-hour period, nature of transactions, the financial precision required for transactions, and the time allowed for each transaction. 5. A description of Contractor's insurance and bonding capabilities; 6. A description of Contractor's information technology (IT) facilities and abilities. Include information on Contractor's IT security and on Contractor's professional capabilities as they relate to the SOW requirements. Response Format and Dates : Responses shall be in English, printable by electronic media on one side of the paper, use 12-point font of any type, and be either single or double-spaced. Responses shall be sent as a pdf file attachment to an email to the Contracting Officer's email address no later than the date and time provided in this notification. The responses shall be limited in size to (1) 10 pages printed on one side, and (2) 10 megabytes total - both email message and attachment - in order to protect the Contracting Officer's email capacity. Do not include formatting that requires large megabyte support. Any graphs or tables included count toward the page limitation. General/Related Information : A solicitation is not being issued at this time, and this notice shall not be construed as a commitment of any nature by the Government. No contract will be awarded as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. A request for solicitation documents will not receive a response. All costs associated with providing information as requested by this Sources Sought Notice shall be the responsibility of the Contractor. This Notice does not restrict the Government in any way to a particular acquisition approach. Submit the information requested above (response) by email to Cheryl T. Flanagan, Contracting Officer,
[email protected] , no later than 5 p.m., Mountain Time, on April 17, 2013.