Vermont Economic Development Authority outlines loan programs, SSBCI deployment and statutory limits on housing

Cassie Polinas, chief executive officer of the Vermont Economic Development Authority, told the Commerce & Economic Development committee that VEDA operates like a lender for economic development, manages a portfolio of loans across the state and is the implementing entity for recently allocated federal SSBCI funds.

Polinas said VEDA borrows from capital markets and relends to businesses and nonprofits, using the state instrumentality status as a credit enhancement. "We are like a bank for economic development," she said, adding that VEDA does not take deposits and instead borrows to relend. She also said, "We cover the whole state of Vermont."

The presentation matters because VEDA channels public and private capital into projects that support tourism, manufacturing, clean energy, health care and agriculture; the authority also administers several state and federal revolving funds and emergency lending programs that leaders cited as important for community resilience.

Polinas described VEDA's size and activity: total assets of about $340,000,000, a roughly 41-person core staff, and more than $2.8 billion lent across Vermont's 14 counties over VEDA's roughly 50-year history. She said agriculture accounts for about one-third of the authority's overall portfolio, and that the remainder funds sectors…