§ 212. Purposes, powers and operation. 1. (a) The purposes of such
corporation shall be to assist, promote, encourage and, through the
cooperative efforts of the institutions and corporations which shall,
from time to time, become members thereof, develop and advance the
business prosperity and economic welfare of the state; to encourage and
assist in the location of new business and industry in the state and to
rehabilitate and retain existing business and industry; to stimulate and
assist in the expansion of all kinds of business activity which will
tend to promote the business development and maintain the economic
stability of the state, provided maximum opportunities for employment,
encourage thrift and improve the standard of living of the citizens of
the state; to cooperate and act in conjunction with other organizations,
public or private, the objects of which are the promotion and
advancement of industrial, commercial, agricultural and recreational
developments in the state; to furnish money and credit to approved and
deserving applicants, for the promotion, development and conduct of all
kinds of business activity in the state, thereby establishing a source
of credit not otherwise readily available; and to provide financial
assistance in the form of loans to small businesses unable to obtain
financing from other private sources, including, but not limited to,
assistance to women and minority-owned business enterprises and small
businesses located in economically distressed areas. For the purposes of
this article, "economically distressed areas" shall mean areas
determined by the commissioner of the department of economic development
on the basis of criteria indicative of economic distress, including
poverty rates, numbers of persons receiving public assistance,
unemployment rates, rate of employment decline, population loss, rate of
per capita income change, decline in economic activity and private
investment, and such other indicators as the commissioner deems
appropriate. Economically distressed areas may include cities,
municipalities, block numbering areas, and census tracts.

(b) The corporation shall undertake the following programs in
furtherance of the above objectives: (i) establish regional offices at
locations throughout New York, with sufficient staffing to advise,
develop and package financial assistance for small and medium sized
businesses; (ii) develop a comprehensive outreach program to increase
the visibility and awareness of the corporation's programs, including
allocating budget and staff to establish and maintain an aggressive and
extensive marketing program of the corporation's program of assistance
to small and medium sized businesses, providing for specific outreach to
minority and women-owned enterprises, and entering into cooperative
relationships with local chambers of commerce, local development
agencies, local development corporations and other community based
financial intermediaries as set forth in subdivision three of this
section; (iii) establish and operate, or affiliate with a small business
investment company and a specialized small business investment company;
(iv) establish a pilot export financing program, using personnel from
the private sector, to evaluate whether the corporation can play a
significant role in the growth of the export industry in the state and
(v) establish a program in cooperation with the empire state development
corporation that shall focus on small businesses located in highly
distressed areas and minority and women-owned business enterprises
(MWBEs) as such designations are defined by the New York state urban
development corporation act, through which the corporation shall be
authorized to: (A) act as third-party agent for the capital access
program established by section sixteen-k of section one of chapter one
hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-eight,
constituting the urban development corporation act; (B) process, fund
and approve qualifying program loans made by the corporation or a
participating financial institution pursuant to section sixteen-k of
section one of chapter one hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen
hundred sixty-eight, constituting the urban development corporation act;
(C) maintain and service a portfolio of qualifying loans made pursuant
to the capital access program; and (D) engage in outreach and marketing
to financial institutions to increase awareness of the program
established under this subparagraph. The corporation shall undertake the
programs enumerated herein at such times as its board of directors
determines that the corporation's capital base and available funds are
adequate to support the operation of such program. The programs
enumerated herein may be modified by the corporation as may be necessary
to meet the changing needs of the state's economy, as determined by the
board of directors.

2. In furtherance of the purposes set forth in subdivision one of this
section, and in addition to the powers conferred on stock corporations
by general laws, such corporation shall, subject to the restrictions and
limitations contained in this article, have the following powers:

(a) To borrow money and otherwise incur indebtedness for any of its
purposes; to issue its bonds, debentures, notes or other evidences of
indebtedness, whether secured or unsecured, therefor; and to secure the
same by mortgage, pledge, deed of trust or other lien on its property,
franchises, rights and privileges of every kind and nature or any part
thereof.

(b) To assist, promote, encourage and through the cooperative efforts
of the institutions and corporations which shall, from time to time,
become members thereof, develop and advance the business prosperity and
economic welfare of the state; to encourage and assist in the location
of new business and industry in the state and to rehabilitate existing
business and industry; to evaluate, assess and determine the value of a
patent right and to take, sell or transfer an agreement or note pursuant
to section five hundred fifty of the general business law, to lend money
to, and to guarantee, endorse, or act as surety on the bonds, notes,
contracts, or other obligations of, or otherwise assist financially, any
person, firm, corporation or association, and to establish and regulate
the terms and conditions with respect to any such loans or financial
assistance and the charges for interest and service connected therewith;
provided, however, that it shall not be the intention hereof to take
from banking organizations any such loans or commitments as may be
desired by such organizations generally in the ordinary course of their
business.

(c) To purchase, receive, hold, lease, or otherwise acquire, and to
sell, convey, mortgage, lease, pledge, or otherwise dispose of, upon
such terms and conditions as its board of directors may deem advisable,
real and personal property, together with such rights and privileges as
may be incidental and appurtenant thereto and the use thereof,
including, but not restricted to, any real or personal property acquired
by such corporation from time to time in the satisfaction of debts or
enforcement of obligations.

(d) To acquire the good will, business, rights, real and personal
property and other assets, or any part thereof, of such persons, firms,
corporations, joint stock companies, associations or trusts as may be in
furtherance of the corporate purposes provided herein, and to assume,
undertake, guarantee or pay the obligations, debts and liabilities of
any such person, firm, corporation, joint stock company, association or
trust; to acquire improved or unimproved real estate for the purpose of
constructing industrial plants or other business establishments thereon
or for the purpose of disposing of such real estate to others for the
construction of industrial plants or other business establishments, and,
in furtherance of the corporate purposes provided herein, to acquire,
construct, or reconstruct, alter, repair, maintain, operate, sell,
lease, or otherwise dispose of industrial plants or business
establishments.

(e) To acquire, subscribe for, own, hold, sell, assign, transfer,
mortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of the stock, shares, bonds,
debentures, notes or other securities and evidences of interest in, or
indebtedness of, any person, firm, corporation, joint stock company,
association or trust, and while the owner or holder thereof, to exercise
all the rights, powers and privileges of ownership, including the right
to vote thereon.

(f) To cooperate with and avail itself of the facilities of the state
department of commerce and any other government agencies; and to
cooperate with and assist, and otherwise encourage, local organizations
in the various communities in the state in the promotion, assistance and
development of the business prosperity and economic welfare of such
communities and of the state.

(g) (1) To acquire a patent right or any part thereof, from such
persons, firms, corporations, joint stock companies, associations or
trusts as may be in furtherance of the corporate purposes provided
herein; (2) to assume, undertake, guarantee or pay the obligations,
debts and liabilities of any such person, firm, corporation, joint stock
company, association or trust; (3) to set forth specific criteria and
standards by which the corporation shall evaluate the patent and the
value of patent rights evolving from that patent; and (4) to allow
ownership of the patent to remain with the borrower and to accept a
percentage of the patent rights as collateral on a loan for capital
formation of a business.

(h) With respect to funds administered by the corporation, to obtain
loan guarantees from any state or federal program to guarantee loans
made to small businesses by the corporation with such funds.

3. The corporation may contract or otherwise affiliate with local
development corporations and other local development organizations
certified for this purpose by the commissioner of the department of
economic development throughout the state, including, but not limited
to, not-for-profit corporations established pursuant to article nine of
the economic development law, to market the programs of the corporation
to small and medium sized businesses, to provide technical, financial
packaging and loan application assistance to business owners seeking
financial assistance from the corporation, including but not limited to
minority owned business enterprises and small and medium sized
businesses located in economically distressed areas.