Goldman Sachs helps New York safety-net hospitals with $45M loan program

The city Economic Development Corp. has launched a loan program to provide safety-net hospitals with up to $45.5 million in capital for staffing needs and Covid-19 vaccination efforts.

The initiative, which launched in May but has not been previously reported on, is projected to serve up to 13 hospitals in the five boroughs, an EDC spokesman said. The agency borrowed money from Goldman Sachs to provide the loans, which are unsecured.

The funding is intended to support hospitals that serve communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic—which often run on tight margins.

The loans mature at the end of 2023 and carry a low interest rate, said the spokesman, who declined to comment further on the specific loan structure. He said the agency does not have estimates for the revenue it will take in from the program.

The agency is managing the initiative with the Community Preservation Corp., a nonprofit affordable-housing and community-revitalization finance company headquartered in Midtown East.

Margaret Anadu, global head of sustainability and impact for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said the firm’s participation in the program relates to its other investment initiatives designed to address gender and racial inequities.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment on the loans’ interest rates or the repayment time line.

The EDC, a nonprofit that serves as the city’s primary vehicle for promoting economic development, employs about 500 people.