WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday the launch of a new public data tool designed to provide greater transparency into federally backed rural lending activity.

According to the agency, the new Lender Lens dashboard is now available through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Data Gateway and makes the department’s full commercial guaranteed loan portfolio accessible to the public, borrowers, and lending institutions.

USDA officials say the dashboard allows users to view and analyze where federal investments are being directed in rural communities nationwide. The platform includes data visualizations showing total loan volume, average loan size, loan distribution by sector, geographic spread, and delinquency rates. Data will be updated monthly and can be downloaded down to the individual loan level.

Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said the tool is intended to give communities and stakeholders clearer insight into how Rural Development funds are being used and where access to capital has expanded for rural businesses and communities.

The Lender Lens builds on the Rural Data Gateway, which USDA developed in 2023 to help target resources more effectively across rural America. The gateway already includes multiple dashboards covering investments made through roughly 80 Rural Development programs over the past decade, highlighting funding for infrastructure, business development, public services, and utilities such as water and wastewater systems.

USDA officials said the data platform also supports federal requirements under the Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act of 2018, which calls for expanded public access to government data.

The Lender Lens dashboard is available through the USDA Rural Data Gateway.