The equity below the EB-5 in the capital stack should not be less than 20 percent. If it is, the developer is not putting in enough equity. Anytime the senior loan is above 60 percent, that could potentially be too much leverage. The typical capital stack is 60 percent senior debt, 20 percent EB-5 and 20 percent developer equity. EB-5 comes behind senior debt but ahead of equity. When we are talking about the EB-5 loan, that is not the funds that the EB-5 investor is making. That is the loan the NCE makes to the JCE. This loan ranks in between the senior debt and the developer equity. From the EB-5 investor’s standpoint, it is always better to have more equity than less equity contribution by the developer. More equity provides the cushion in a downturn in the markets for the EB-5 investor. For a given amount of EB-5 investment, of course, the less debt there is (that is, the senior loan), the better off you are. However, if the EB-5 is in the first position since there is no senior debt, that could be a red flag for the project. After all, it could indicate that no reputable senior lender wants to take any exposure whatsoever to the project. It does get a little complicated with all the moving parts.
