Procedures for Issuance and Amendment of Letters of Credit; Auto-Extension Letters of Credit (i) Each Letter of Credit shall be issued or amended, as the case may be, upon the request of the Borrower delivered to the L/C Issuer (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) in the form of a Letter of Credit Application, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. Such Letter of Credit Application must be received by the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. at least two Business Days (or such later date and time as the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer may agree in a particular instance in their sole discretion) prior to the proposed issuance date or date of amendment, as the case may be. In the case of a request for an initial issuance of a Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail satisfactory to the L/C Issuer: (A) the proposed issuance date of the requested Letter of Credit (which shall be a Business Day); (B) the amount thereof; (C) the expiry date thereof; (D) the name and address of the beneficiary thereof; (E) the documents to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; (F) the full text of any certificate to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; and (G) such other matters as the L/C Issuer may require. In the case of a request for an amendment of any outstanding Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail satisfactory to the L/C Issuer (A) the Letter of Credit to be amended; (B) the proposed date of amendment thereof (which shall be a Business Day); (C) the nature of the proposed amendment; and (D) such other matters as the L/C Issuer may require. Additionally, the Borrower shall furnish to the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent such other documents and information pertaining to such requested Letter of Credit issuance or amendment, including any Issuer Documents, as the L/C Issuer or the Administrative Agent may require.
(ii) Promptly after receipt of any Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer will confirm with the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Administrative Agent has received a copy of such Letter of Credit Application from the Borrower and, if not, the L/C Issuer will provide the Administrative Agent with a copy thereof. Unless the L/C Issuer has received written notice from any Lender, the Administrative Agent or any Loan Party, at least one Business Day prior to the requested date of issuance or amendment of the applicable Letter of Credit, that one or more applicable conditions contained in Article IV shall not then be satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the L/C Issuer shall, on the requested date, issue a Letter of Credit for the account of the Borrower (or the applicable Subsidiary) or enter into the applicable amendment, as the case may be, in each case in accordance with the L/C Issuer’s usual and customary business practices. Immediately upon the issuance of each Letter of Credit, each Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the L/C Issuer a risk participation in such Letter of Credit in an amount equal to the product of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage times the amount of such Letter of Credit.
(iii) If the Borrower so requests in any applicable Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer may, in its sole and absolute discretion, agree to issue a Letter of Credit that has automatic extension provisions (each, an “Auto-Extension Letter of Credit”); provided that any such Auto-Extension Letter of Credit must permit the L/C Issuer to prevent any such extension at least once in each twelve-month period (commencing with the date of issuance of such Letter of Credit) by giving prior notice to the beneficiary thereof not later than a day (the “Non-Extension Notice Date”) in each such twelve-month period to be agreed upon at the time such Letter of Credit is issued. Unless otherwise directed by the L/C Issuer, the Borrower shall not be required to make a specific request to the L/C Issuer for any such extension. Once an Auto-Extension Letter of Credit has been issued, the Lenders shall be deemed to have authorized (but may not require) the L/C Issuer to permit the extension of such Letter of Credit at any time to an expiry date not later than the Letter of Credit Expiration Date; provided, however, that the L/C Issuer shall not permit any such extension if (A) the L/C Issuer has determined that it would not be permitted, or would have no obligation, at such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its revised form (as extended) under the terms hereof (by reason of the provisions of clause (ii) or (iii) of Section 2.03(a) or otherwise), or (B) it has received notice (which may be by telephone or in writing) on or before the day that is five Business Days before the Non-Extension Notice Date (1) from the Administrative Agent that the Required Lenders have elected not to permit such extension or (2) from the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Borrower that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in Section 4.02 is not then satisfied, and in each such case directing the L/C Issuer not to permit such extension.
(iv) Promptly after its delivery of any Letter of Credit or any amendment to a Letter of Credit to an advising bank with respect thereto or to the beneficiary thereof, the L/C Issuer will also deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent a true and complete copy of such Letter of Credit or amendment.
Procedures for Issuance and Amendment of Letters of Credit; Auto-Renewal Letters of Credit (i) Each Letter of Credit shall be issued or amended, as the case may be, upon the request of the Parent Borrower hand delivered or telecopied (or transmitted by electronic communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by the L/C Issuer) to the L/C Issuer (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) in the form of a Letter of Credit Application, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Parent Borrower. Such Letter of Credit Application must be received by the relevant L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m., Local Time, at least three (3) Business Days prior to the proposed issuance date or date of amendment, as the case may be; or, in each case, such later date and time as the relevant L/C Issuer may agree in a particular instance in its sole discretion. In the case of a request for an initial issuance of a Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail reasonably satisfactory to the relevant L/C Issuer: (a) the proposed issuance date of the requested Letter of Credit (which shall be a Business Day); (b) the amount and currency thereof; (c) the expiry date thereof; (d) the name and address of the beneficiary thereof; (e) the documents to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; (f) the full text of any certificate to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; and (g) such other matters as the relevant L/C Issuer may reasonably request. If requested by the L/C Issuer, the Parent Borrower also shall submit a letter of credit application on the L/C Issuer’s standard form in connection with any request for a Letter of Credit. In the case of a request for an amendment of any outstanding Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail reasonably satisfactory to the relevant L/C Issuer (1) the Letter of Credit to be amended; (2) the proposed date of amendment thereof (which shall be a Business Day); (3) the nature of the proposed amendment; and (4) such other matters as the relevant L/C Issuer may reasonably request.
(ii) Promptly after receipt of any Letter of Credit Application, the relevant L/C Issuer will confirm with the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Administrative Agent has received a copy of such Letter of Credit Application from the Parent Borrower and, if not, such L/C Issuer will provide the Administrative Agent with a copy thereof. Upon receipt by the relevant L/C Issuer of confirmation from the Administrative Agent that the requested issuance or amendment is permitted in accordance with the terms hereof, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, such L/C Issuer shall, on the requested date, issue a Letter of Credit for the account of the Borrowers or enter into the applicable amendment, as the case may be. Immediately upon the issuance of each Letter of Credit, each Revolving Credit Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, acquire from the relevant L/C Issuer a risk participation in such Letter of Credit in an amount equal to the product of such Revolving Credit Lender’s Applicable Percentage times the amount of such Letter of Credit.
(iii) With respect to standby Letters of Credit only, if the Parent Borrower so requests in any applicable Letter of Credit Application, the relevant L/C Issuer shall agree to issue a Letter of Credit that has automatic renewal provisions (each, an “Auto-Renewal Letter of Credit”); provided that any such Auto-Renewal Letter of Credit must permit the relevant L/C Issuer to prevent any such renewal at least once in each twelve-month period (commencing with the date of issuance of such Letter of Credit) by giving prior notice to the beneficiary thereof not later than a day (the “Nonrenewal Notice Date”) in each such twelve-month period to be agreed upon at the time such Letter of Credit is issued. Unless otherwise directed by the relevant L/C Issuer, the Borrowers shall not be required to make a specific request to the relevant L/C Issuer for any such renewal. Once an Auto-Renewal Letter of Credit has been issued, the applicable Lenders shall be deemed to have authorized (but may not require) the relevant L/C Issuer to permit the renewal of such Letter of Credit at any time to an expiry date not later than the Letter of Credit Expiration Date; provided that the relevant L/C Issuer shall not permit any such renewal if (A) the relevant L/C Issuer has determined that it would have no obligation at such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its renewed form under the terms hereof (by reason of the provisions of Section 2.03(a)(ii) or otherwise), or (B) it has received notice (which may be by telephone, followed promptly in writing, or in writing) on or before the day that is five (5) Business Days before the Nonrenewal Notice Date from the Administrative Agent or any Revolving Credit Lender, as applicable, or the Parent Borrower that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in Section 4.02 is not then satisfied.
(iv) Promptly after its delivery of any Letter of Credit or any amendment to a Letter of Credit to an advising bank with respect thereto or to the beneficiary thereof, the relevant L/C Issuer will also deliver to the Parent Borrower and the Administrative Agent a true and complete copy of such Letter of Credit or amendment.
Issuance of Letters of Credit and Purchase of Participations Therein (a) During the Availability Period, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, each Issuing Bank agrees to issue Letters of Credit (or amend, extend or increase any outstanding Letter of Credit) at the request and for the account of the Borrower (including for the purpose of supporting obligations of its Subsidiaries); provided that (i) each Letter of Credit shall be denominated in dollars or any Alternative Currency; (ii) the stated amount of each Letter of Credit shall not be less than the Dollar Equivalent of $250,000 or such lesser amount as is acceptable to the applicable Issuing Bank; (iii) after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, extension or increase, in no event shall the Total Utilization of Commitments exceed the Commitments then in effect; (iv) after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, extension or increase, in no event shall the aggregate Letter of Credit Usage exceed the Letter of Credit Sublimit then in effect, (v) after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, extension or increase, in no event shall the Letter of Credit Usage attributable to Letters of Credit issued by any Issuing Bank exceed the Issuing Bank Sublimit of such Issuing Bank, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by such Issuing Bank, (vi) after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, extension or increase, in no event shall the aggregate amount of Revolving Loans (and Swing Line Loans, in the case of the Swing Line Lender) and Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Bank exceed such Issuing Bank’s Commitments hereunder, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by such Issuing Bank, and (vii) in no event shall any Letter of Credit have an expiration date later than the earlier of (1) five days prior to the Maturity Date and (2) the date which is one year from the date of issuance of such Letter of Credit. If the Borrower so requests in the Application for any Letter of Credit, the applicable Issuing Bank may, in its sole discretion, agree to issue a Letter of Credit that has automatic extension provisions (each such Letter of Credit, an “Auto-Extension Letter of Credit”); provided that any such Auto-Extension Letter of Credit must permit such Issuing Bank to prevent any such extension at least once in each twelve-month period (commencing with the date of issuance of such Letter of Credit) by giving prior notice to the beneficiary thereof not later than a day in each such twelve-month period to be agreed upon at the time such Letter of Credit is issued. Unless otherwise directed by the applicable Issuing Bank, the Borrower shall not be required to make a specific request to such Issuing Bank for any such extension. Once an Auto-Extension Letter of Credit has been issued, the Lenders shall be deemed to have authorized (but may not require) the Issuing Bank to permit the extension of such Letter of Credit at any time to an expiration date not later than the date five days prior to the Maturity Date; provided, however, that the applicable Issuing Bank shall not permit any such extension if (A) such Issuing Bank has determined that it would not be permitted, or would have no obligation, at such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its revised form (as extended) under the terms hereof, or (B) it has received notice from the Required Lenders or the Borrower in accordance with Section 2.4(e) that one or more of the conditions in Section 4.2(b) or (c) would not be satisfied if such Letter of Credit were so extended. If any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, an Issuing Bank shall not be required to issue, amend, extend or increase any Letter of Credit unless such Issuing Bank has entered into arrangements satisfactory to it and the Borrower to eliminate such Issuing Bank’s risk with respect to the participation in Letters of Credit of such Defaulting Lender, including by cash collateralizing such Defaulting Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the Letter of Credit Usage at such time on terms satisfactory to such Issuing Bank. Each request by the Borrower for the issuance, amendment, extension or increase of any Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty that the conditions set forth in clauses (iii), (iv) and (v) above have been met. Notwithstanding the foregoing, BofA will not be required to issue Letters of Credit denominated in Alternative Currencies.
(b) Whenever the Borrower desires the issuance, amendment, extension or increase of a Letter of Credit, it shall deliver to the Administrative Agent and the applicable Issuing Bank (i) in the case of a request for the issuance of a Letter of Credit, an Issuance Notice and Application no later than 1:00 p.m. (New York City time) at least five Business Days in advance of the proposed date of issuance and (ii) in the case of a request for the amendment, extension or increase of a Letter of Credit, a notice and/or letter of credit application, in such form as specified by the applicable Issuing Bank, identifying the Letter of Credit to be amended, extended or increased and specifying the requested date of amendment, extension or increase (which shall be a Business Day), the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire (which shall comply with paragraph (a) of this Section), the amount and currency (which shall be dollars or an Alternative Currency) of such Letter of Credit and such other information as shall be necessary to enable the applicable Issuing Bank to amend, extend or increase such Letter of Credit, no later than 1:00 p.m. (New York City time) at least five Business Days in advance of the proposed date of such amendment, extension or increase (or such shorter period as the applicable Issuing Bank may agree to in its sole discretion). Each notice or letter of credit application delivered pursuant to this Section 2.4(b) shall be accompanied by documentary and other evidence of the proposed beneficiary’s identity as may reasonably be requested by the applicable Issuing Bank to enable such Issuing Bank to verify the beneficiary’s identity or to comply with any applicable laws or regulations, including the USA Patriot Act. Upon satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in Section 4.2, the applicable Issuing Bank shall issue or amend, extend or increase the requested Letter of Credit only in accordance with such Issuing Bank’s standard operating procedures as in effect from time to time. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document to the contrary, no Issuing Bank shall be required to issue, amend, extend or increase any Letter of Credit if such Letter of Credit would violate one or more provisions of any applicable law, rule or regulation or such Issuing Bank’s standard policies and procedures regarding the issuance of letters of credit as in effect from time to time (to the extent not in conflict with the requirements of this Section 2.4 or as otherwise accepted by the Borrower). Notwithstanding anything contained in any Application furnished to any Issuing Bank in connection with the issuance of any Letter of Credit or any notice or letter of credit application furnished to any Issuing Bank in connection with the amendment, extension or increase of any Letter of Credit, (i) all provisions of any such Application or notice or letter of credit application purporting to grant Liens in favor of such Issuing Bank to secure obligations in respect of such Letter of Credit shall be disregarded, it being agreed that such obligations shall be secured solely to the extent provided in this Agreement and in the Collateral Documents, and (ii) in the event of any conflict between the terms and conditions of such Application or notice or letter of credit application, on the one hand, and the terms and conditions of this Agreement, on the other hand, the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control. Upon the issuance of any Letter of Credit or amendment, extension or increase thereof, the applicable Issuing Bank shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent, and the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender of the Dollar Equivalent thereof and the currency in which such Letter of Credit is denominated, which notice from the Administrative Agent shall be accompanied by a copy of such Letter of Credit or amendment, extension or increase thereof and the Dollar Equivalent of such Lender’s respective participation in such Letter of Credit pursuant to Section 2.4(e).
(c) In determining whether to honor any drawing under any Letter of Credit by the beneficiary(ies) thereof, the parties agree that, with respect to documents presented which appear on their face to be in substantial compliance with the terms of a Letter of Credit, the applicable Issuing Bank may, in its sole discretion, either accept and make payment upon such documents without responsibility for further investigation, regardless of any notice or information to the contrary, or refuse to accept and make payment upon such documents, if such documents are not in strict compliance with the terms of such Letter of Credit. As between the Borrower and an Issuing Bank, the Borrower assumes all risks of the acts and omissions of, or misuse of the Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing Bank, by the respective beneficiaries of such Letters of Credit; provided that such assumption of risk by the Borrower shall not affect any rights that the Borrower may have against any such beneficiary. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, an Issuing Bank shall not be responsible or have any liability for: (i) the form, validity, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness or legal effect of any document submitted by any party in connection with the application for and issuance of any such Letter of Credit, even if it should in fact prove to be in any or all respects invalid, insufficient, inaccurate, fraudulent or forged; (ii) the validity or sufficiency of any instrument transferring or assigning or purporting to transfer or assign any such Letter of Credit or the rights or benefits thereunder or proceeds thereof, in whole or in part, which may prove to be invalid or ineffective for any reason; (iii) failure of the beneficiary of any such Letter of Credit to comply fully with any conditions required in order to draw upon such Letter of Credit; (iv) errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in transmission or delivery of any messages, by mail, cable, telegraph, telex or otherwise, whether or not they be in cipher; (v) errors in interpretation of technical terms; (vi) any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under any such Letter of Credit or of the proceeds thereof; (vii) the misapplication by any beneficiary of any such Letter of Credit of the proceeds of any drawing under such Letter of Credit; (viii) any other action or inaction taken or suffered by such Issuing Bank under or in connection with any such Letter of Credit, if required under, or expressly authorized under the circumstances by, any applicable domestic or foreign law or letter of credit practice or (ix) any consequences arising from causes beyond the control of such Issuing Bank, including any Governmental Acts; none of the above shall affect or impair, or prevent the vesting of, any of such Issuing Bank’s rights or powers hereunder or place such Issuing Bank under any liability to the Borrower. Without limiting the foregoing and in furtherance thereof, any action taken or omitted by any Issuing Bank under or in connection with any Letter of Credit issued by it or any documents and certificates delivered thereunder, if taken or omitted in “good faith” (as such term is defined in Article 5 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code), shall not give rise to any liability on the part of such Issuing Bank to the Borrower. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 2.4(c), the applicable Issuing Bank shall not be excused from liability to the Borrower to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrower to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrower that are caused by such Issuing Bank’s failure to exercise care when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof. The parties hereto expressly agree that, in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of any Issuing Bank (as determined by a final, non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction), such Issuing Bank shall be deemed to have exercised care in each such determination.
(d) In the event any Issuing Bank has honored a drawing under a Letter of Credit on any date (a “Disbursement Date”), it shall promptly notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent of the amount of such drawing in the currency in which such Letter of Credit is denominated and of the applicable Disbursement Date. In the case of any such drawing in an Alternative Currency, the Borrower’s obligation to reimburse the amount of such drawing will, on the applicable Disbursement Date, automatically be converted into an obligation to reimburse the Dollar Equivalent (determined as of such Disbursement Date) of the amount of such Alternative Currency drawing. The Borrower shall reimburse such Issuing Bank on or before the Business Day immediately following the date on which such drawing is honored (the “Reimbursement Date”) in an amount in same day funds equal to the dollar amount or Dollar Equivalent, as applicable, of such honored drawing, together in each case with accrued and unpaid interest as provided in Section 2.12; provided that, if the dollar amount or Dollar Equivalent, as applicable, of such honored drawing is $500,000 or more, the Borrower may, subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein, request in accordance with Section 2.3 or 2.5 that such payment be financed with a Swing Line Loan or an ABR Borrowing and, to the extent so financed, the Borrower’s obligation to make such payment shall be discharged and replaced by the resulting Swing Line Loan or ABR Borrowing. If the Borrower fails to reimburse any honored drawing under any Letter of Credit on or before the Reimbursement Date, the Administrative Agent shall notify each Lender of such failure, the payment then due from the Borrower in respect of such honored drawing, and such Lender’s Applicable Percentage thereof. Promptly following receipt of such notice, each Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent, in dollars, its Applicable Percentage of the amount then due from the Borrower, in the same manner as provided in Section 2.6 with respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section 2.6 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders pursuant to this paragraph), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly remit to the applicable Issuing Bank the amounts so received by it from the Lenders. Promptly following receipt by the Administrative Agent of any payment from the Borrower pursuant to this paragraph, the Administrative Agent shall distribute such payment to the applicable Issuing Bank or, to the extent that Lenders have made payments pursuant to this paragraph to reimburse such Issuing Bank, then to such Lenders and such Issuing Bank as their interests may appear. Any payment made by a Lender pursuant to this paragraph to reimburse an Issuing Bank for an honored drawing under a Letter of Credit (other than the funding of a Swing Line Loan or an ABR Borrowing as contemplated above) shall not constitute a Loan and shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligation to reimburse such drawing. If any Lender fails to make available to the Administrative Agent for the account of the relevant Issuing Bank any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.4(d) by the time specified herein, such Issuing Bank shall be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting through the Administrative Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon for the period from the date such payment is required to the date on which such payment is immediately available to such Issuing Bank at a rate per annum equal to the greater of the NYFRB Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in