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| SBA Supervised Lender Safety & Soundness | Solicitation Questions | SBAHQ-16-R-0006 |
| Page | |
| Section | |
| Question | |
| Answer | |
General
| What was the prior contract value |
| ?????????? |
General
| How many Community Advantage lenders are there and how many are also participants in the Microloan program? |
| As of June 15, 2016: |
· 113 approved Community Advantage Lenders
· 143 active Microlenders
General
| Due to many of our employees taking time off for July 4th holiday, it may be challenging to meet the current proposal due date. Will the government consider extending proposals due date by one week to July 12, 2016? |
| I am okay with extending. |
General
| Will the Government kindly provide an actual work breakdown schedule (i.e., tasks completed) for the prior two years of work by contractors against this contract? |
| The prior contractor performed work under the following tasks: |
· Task 1B
· Task 1C
· Task 3 (one)
· Task 4 (four examinations)
· Task 7 (one)
· Task 8 (one)
General
| We understand the former incumbent left the contract. Does the SBA intend to have the awardee try and “catch up” on the backlog or unissued reports of the incumbent? |
| No. All scheduled work has been completed. |
General
| There is no mention in the RFP of conforming to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). Will the auditor be required to conform its work under GAGAS? |
| No |
General
| Is the Contractor expected to have a subscription to SNL Financial Data, or does the SBA provide a login to the Contractor for the SNL website, for use in gathering Lender data necessary for the review(s)? |
| No. Non-Federally Regulated lenders do not have information on SNL, so this would not be needed. |
Labor Rates
1. Task 9 under “5. Labor Rates” appears as a bullet item under “tasks are based on unit pricing” and in the bullet list under “tasks are priced based on labor categories and firm-fixed hourly rates agreed upon in the IDIQ contract”. Please clarify.
2. 3. Task 11 is not mentioned under “5. Labor Rates”. Please clarify if this is correct.
This was an error, and has been amended as follows:
· Task 9 is priced per unit of 5 loan files, and is not priced based on labor categories and firm-fixed hourly rates agreed upon the IDIQ contract
· Task 11 is priced based on labor categories and firm-fixed hourly rates agreed upon in the IDIQ contract
Consolidated Price Proposal
| The solicitation states that the Consolidated Price Proposal should include an excel workbook. Does the government only request the excel workbook, or is a corresponding narrative also required? |
| Offers must provide the Excel workbook in the required format. If this is insufficient to explain the price proposal, Offerors may, but are required, to include one additional page in the workbook for further explanation. |
Government Furnished Property and Services
| The RFP states that required software and hardware will be provided for three seats at SBA HQ. What specific software and hardware is the Government referring to? |
| Contractors located onsite at SBA will be provided with a desktop computer, with all of the software on that computer they will need to perform their responsibilities. In addition, they will be provided with personal printers and access to shared printers and high speed scanners. |
Confidentiality Requirements and Conflict of Interest Agreement
| Please provide a list of SBA supervised lending organizations so that we may confirm no organizational conflicts of interest exist. |
| While there are more than 200 active SBA Supervised Lenders, examinations are conducted primarily for the SBLCs, which are currently the following: |
· American Business Lending, Inc.
· Business Loan Center, LLC
· CapitalSpring SBLC, LLC
· CEI 7(a) Financing, LLC
· CenterStone SBA Lending, Inc.
· CRF Small Business Loan Company, LLC
· Crossroads Small Business Solutions, LLC
· First Western SBLC, Inc.
· Grow America Fund, Incorporated
· Hana Small Business Lending, Inc.
· Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC
· Loan Source Incorporated
· Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC
· ReadyCap Lending, LLC
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Is SBA currently using a single integrated COTS platform for both the virtual data room function and the tracking of lender (client) contact information, communications, and tracking of corrective action/periodic reporting activities? |
| Yes |
Task 1 – Technical Assistance
| Para 9.1 states “Cost for technical assistance may be allocated to this CLIN as a monthly cost, or it may be imputed across the fixed cost items.” How will the SBA evaluate the pricing if some offerors submit a price for this CLIN while others do not? |
| Duly noted. The paragraph has been modified to read as follows: Cost for technical assistance must be allocated to this CLIN as a monthly cost. |
| 21 |
| Part III. Para 9.1, Task 1A |
PARRiS and Community Advantage Delegated Lender Reviews Technical Assistance
| Task 1A states that the Contractor shall prepare the PARRiS Delegated Authority and CA Delegated Authority decision memos. Could we get a sample of a Delegated Authority Decision Memo? |
| The template used is provided as |
ATTACHMENT 4 – Exhibit 5 : Delegated Authority Review Template 2016.06
| 23 |
| Part III. Para 9.1, Task 1B |
Certification of Capital Compliance, Quarterly Financial Condition, and Annual Report Reviews
| Can the quarterly and annual reviews for lenders that participate in both programs be combined? |
| At the current time lenders are prohibited from participating in more than one 7(a) program; therefore combining reviews is not possible. |
| 23 |
| Part III, Para. 9.1 , Task 1B |
Certification of Capital Compliance, Quarterly Financial Condition, and Annual Report Reviews
| Can the government please clarify if the reviews in Task 1B include three or four quarters of information, in addition to one annual review? |
| Task 1B includes four quarters of information in addition to one annual review. |
| 23 |
| Part III, Para. 9.1 , Task 1B |
Certification of Capital Compliance, Quarterly Financial Condition, and Annual Report Reviews
| Can the government please clarify the format by which the information will be received for the annual and quarterly reports? Will the contractor be required to input data into a consolidated worksheet? |
| The government receives information from lenders in word, pdf, and Excel file formats, in formats determined by the lender. The contractor will be required to input information into individual Excel worksheets/workbooks for each lender, but is not required to consolidate the information for all lenders into one Excel workbook. |
| 24 |
| Part III. Para 9.1, Task 1C |
Task 1C: Lender Oversight Technical Assistance
| Can the government please clarify what is intended by “Developing individual SBA Supervised Lenders’ Examinations and Review plans” and if this the same as 9.4.4 Examination Pre-Plan discussed on page 28? |
| Yes, duly noted. The solicitation has been amended to remove from Task 1C “Developing individual SBA Supervised Lenders’ Examinations and Review plans”, as this is the Examination Pre-Plan discussed on page 28. |
| 24 |
| PART III, Para. 9.1, Task 1C |
Lender Oversight Technical Assistance
| Can the government please provide an example report and the number of reports that are produced on a quarterly basis? |
| Disclosure of standard reports on the entire SBA Supervised Lender portfolio would require release of non-public information. One per quarter is generally required. The contractor is only required to maintain a current lender list with lender numbers. The rest of the information is pulled automatically from SBA’s database. |
PARRiS Analytical Review/Community Advantage Desk Review
| What does “populate” the LPA mean, and from what source is the information pulled? Is it a manual population? |
| An LPA is generated by entering only a lender number, which then pulls data from a large data set generated and maintained by SBA, which populates an Excel workbook. Manually entering data is not required. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Is it acceptable to use two separate products, one for the management tracking system and one for the virtual data room function (with two separate user accounts for each SBA user)? |
| Yes, but the Management Workflow and Tracking System is essentially an Excel workbook which should reside on the Virtual Data Room. The MWTS itself should not need a user account. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Does the management tracking system need to include a tickler system with automated notification related to corrective action follow-up and periodic reporting requirements? |
| Automated notification related to corrective action follow-up and periodic report would be of value to the government, but is not set out as a requirement. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Can the contractor limit the number of lender user accounts or does the system need to provide for unlimited usage? |
| Each lender needs only to be provided with one account. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| What is the maximum number of virtual data room sites SBA anticipates needing over the life of the contract? |
| The government’s estimate at this point in time is no more than 250. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Will the contractor need to store historical documentation for each lender for the duration of the contract or can the contractor purge documentation from the virtual data room once a review or oversight activity is completed? |
| The contractor will need to store historical documentation for each lender for the duration of the contract. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| If the contractor proposes using a different COTS platform than the one currently being used by SBA, will the historical data and documentation in the current platform need to be recorded and stored in the new system or will the contractor only need to record information from the time it is awarded the contract? |
| The historical data and documentation in the current platform will need to be recorded and stored in the new system. However, only one year of data has been recorded at this point in time. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Approximately how much documentation is stored in the existing virtual data room i.e., total megabytes or gigabytes? |
| Twelve gigabytes |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Approximately how many communication records (e.g. emails, phone calls, and other notes) are recorded in the current system? |
| Approximately 3,500 communication records |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Is the current COTS platform available to the new contractor with the complete existing database of contacts, sites, communications, and documentation? Can the awarded contractor take control of the existing COTS platform? |
| Yes to both questions. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| With respect to the virtual data room, is bulk document upload a requirement or is it permissible to require lenders and other users to submit multiple uploads to publish a set of documentation? |
| Bulk document upload is preferred but not a requirement. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Does the tracking system for recording communications need to be integrated with SBA’s email system to automatically record email in the customer relationship management database? Does the current platform include this functionality? |
| The current platform includes this functionality, which is viewed to be of value to the government. |
Management Workflow and Tracking System and Virtual Data Room
| Can you share the name of the Commercial-off-the-shelf Virtual data room software and whether SBA holds the licensing agreement? |
| DXOpen on The Debt Exchange, which is a web-based platform, and not software per se. |
Examination Pre-Plan
| PARRiS Pre-Plan: Exhibit 2. Can you define “examination” in terms of requiring Pre-plans? Example: is it inclusive of the PARRiS Analytical (desk) review? |
| No, a PARRiS Analytical review is not required for a pre-plan, although much of the information analyzed would be similar. |
Agreed Upon Procedures (AUP) Review (Ad Hoc)
| Task 11 states that “The Contractor shall assist SBA in performing a review of the audit/assessment submitted by the lender.” Could you provide more information on the type of reports submitted by lender that would have to be reviewed? In addition, Attachment 1 Pricing Sheet IDIQ states “Pricing for task 12…” in the row for CLIN 0011. Could you please clarify the pricing for Task 11? |
| An AUP submitted by a lender could have a scope that ranges from very limited to very broad, depending upon the circumstances that need investigation. As the need for this task depends upon the results of future examinations and oversight activity, it is impossible to anticipate what type of reports will be submitted. SBA anticipates requiring at most a very small number of these reports, and possibly none during the life of the contract. |
Comprehensive Review of SBA Microloan Program (Ad Hoc)
| SBA’s OCRM is also charged with oversight of Microloan Intermediaries that are participants in SBA’s Microloan Program. Will the awardee be performing both site visits and desk reviews of Microloan Intermediaries? OCRM intends, through this contract, to conduct a baseline analysis of the Microloan Program. What is a baseline analysis of the Microloan Program entail? |
| The contractor will not be responsible for performing site visits and desk reviews other than what might be necessary on a sampling basis to complete the review of the Microloan Program. The comprehensive review is of the performance and risks under the program as managed by SBA, including at a minimum all items listed under Task 12. |
Staffing
| Can the Alternate Project Manager also be one of the support staff? For example, can the Lead Financial Analyst be the Alternate Project Manager also? |
| The Project Manager and Lead Financial Analyst must be full time, so cannot serve as substitutes for or share the responsibilities of any other position under the contract. Otherwise, it may be possible to have one individual perform two functions. |
Staffing
| Please verify that the alternate project manager is not required to be a full time position. |
| The alternate project manager is not required to be a full time position. |
Staffing
| Must all key personnel be employees of the prime contractor or can they be a mix between prime and sub employees |
| The Project Manager and Lead Financial Analyst should be employees of the prime contractor, as well as any member of the Technical Assistance team responsible for administrative support and coordination of tasks. |
Staffing
| Can the government please confirm that the examination review and assessment team will not need to be located at SBA HQ? |
| This is confirmed. In fact, the Examination, Review and Assessment Team cannot be located at SBA HQ. |
Staffing
| Government Furnished Property and Services - states that “SBA will provide the Contractor with seating for three individuals in its office facilities in Washington D.C.” Page 40, (Section 11. Staffing) then states that “The Technical Assistance team will be responsible for Tasks 1A, 1B, and 1C, and should be located at SBA Headquarters. This team should also include an individual responsible for administrative support and coordination of tasks for the Technical Assistance team; and the Examination, Review and Assessment team, who must be located at SBA Headquarters. The Technical Assistance team shall include at least two specialists in addition to the Lead Financial Analyst.” The wording appears to require four individuals at SBA headquarters (Lead Financial Analyst, two specialists, individual responsible for administrative support). Please clarify if SBA will expect to have three or four individuals located at the SBA facilities. |
| Three individuals, at least one of whom should be responsible for administrative support and coordination of tasks for the Technical Assistance team; and the Examination, Review and Assessment team. In the past, this has been the Lead Financial Analyst. The solicitation has been revised to make this clearer. |
Staffing
| Beginning on page 40, the RFP states that “Residential Loan experience will not satisfy the commercial lending experience requirement” for the Technical Assistance Team. Does this constraint also apply to the Examination, Review, and Assessment Team? |
| Yes, this constraint applies to both. |
Travel
| Is there an estimated travel budget for the contract? |
| Each year, total travel should not exceed $250,000. |
Travel
| How much travel does the Government anticipate to support this contract? Please provide a geographic distribution (by region) of potential travel destinations. |
| Each examination will require one week of travel at a minimum. The current geographic distribution of SBLCs is as follows: |
· Dallas, TX: 3
· Greenville, SC: 1
· Los Angeles, CA: 2
· Laguna Hills, CA: 1
· Rancho Cucamonga, CA: 1
· New York, NY: 2
· Lake Success, NY: 1
· Brunswick, ME: 1
· Minneapolis, MN: 1
· New Providence, NJ: 1 The locations of the NFRL examinations are difficult to predict, as we do not perform these on a schedule.
Insurance
| Is there a minimum acceptable Error and Omission Insurance limit? |
| This is an error, as Para. 48.2 was unintentionally omitted. The solicitation has been amended to include this requirement, as follows: |
“The Contractor shall provide SBA with evidence of General Liability including Fidelity Bonding Insurance is $5.0 million and Error and Omissions coverage, naming SBA as a third party beneficiary, in a minimum amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000). Such evidence may be (1) a binder or (2) a copy of the original policy. The Contractor shall provide with proposal current amount of General Liability and Error and Omission and at time of award actual copy of insurance with correct amounts at post award conference. “
Submission Content
| The RFP references the requirement for "a complete proposal for the IDIQ contract as well as a complete proposal for the first task order to be awarded against the IDIQ contract" Is it acceptable to incorporate responses to both requirements in the single technical proposal? |
| Yes |
| 78 |
| Part V. Para 58. |
| Are resumes included in the 45 page limitation of the technical submission |
| No |
Technical Submission
| Do cover sheets count in the page count? |
| No |
SubFactor A – Prior Relevant Experience
| Subfactor A, Prior Relevant Experience, Narrative states: “Relevant prior experience is work performed that is similar in size and scope to the SBA’s requirements in complexity, dollar amount, federal agencies, &c. as detailed in the PWS.” Can prior relevant experience include work performed for or at private-sector lending organizations? |
| Yes |
| 84 |
| Part V. Para 59, Subfactor B |
Technical and Pricing Submission
| Past Performance references: If the company has past performance on diverse Task Orders within the same large IDIQ contract, Can individual task order within the same IDIQ be provided as a separate past performance reference? |
| ?????????? |
Technical Submission
| There appears to be a partial loss of parts of a sentence at: “59.1.4. FACTOR 4 - PRICING (IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT PRICING SHOULD BE PART OF PART II OF YOUR PROPOSAL………. Part of Part II is confusing us. The parenthesis is not closed. |
| PART I is the technical submission |
PART II is pricing submission
The solicitation has been amended to make that more clear
| ATTACHMENT #1 |
| IDIQ Pricing Sheet and Quantity Estimates |
| Pricing Sheet IDIQ, does not reference Task 18. Please clarify. |
| It is expected that Tasks 16, 17, & 18 will be performed for no additional charge. |
| ATTACHMENT #1 |
| IDIQ Pricing Sheet and Quantity Estimates |
| Attachment 1 Pricing Sheet seems to have an error as each row appears to refer to the next task below. |
| I believe that this has been corrected. |
| ATTACHMENT #2 |
| TASK ORDER 0001 |
| Can the government please confirm that Task Order 0001 should include 12 months of Task 1 and nothing more? |
| This correct. A task order for the Virtual Data Room would not be issued before December 2016. |
| ATTACHMENT #3 |
| Consolidated Price Proposal |
“First Year” tab
| Can the government confirm that “Task 15: Virtual Data Room” should be Task 13? |
| Confirmed. This was an error, and has been corrected on the amendment to ATTACHMENT #3. |
