The institution provides cut-rate loans for small and medium-sized ventures and local authorities, often for environmental projects.

For now, the loan agency is able to turn a profit buying cut-rate loans.

The banks also provided cut-rate loans to farmers and small businesses to win support.

Auto analysts were skeptical that G.M. could sell so many vehicles in the first quarter without cutting prices or increasing rebates and cut-rate loans.

Although third-level tuition has been free in Ireland since 1997, for other student expenses most of the major banks offer interest-free or cut-rate loans to students.

Tax revenues went to finance such programs as food stamps, welfare, cut-rate loans and the like.

The biggest incentive is cut-rate financing, which the bank said it was able to provide because it received $1 million in cut-rate loans from the State of New Jersey.

By offering cut-rate loans to developers and rent subsidies to poor tenants, the programs formed the bulk of the nation's housing policy before 1980.

The Government has also offered several important tax breaks to banks to make it more attractive for them to write off loans and to help the most distressed borrowers with cut-rate loans.

The $86 billion plan consists of a range of spending programs, tax breaks and cut-rate loans to bolster the anemic economy while shoring up the banking system and financial markets.