Do Participated Loans count against a Director's aggregate debt? If the loan is 100% participated, does that mean the loan amount is not aggregated into his total debt?

You mean participations sold or purchased? Participations sold without recourse do not count against the insider.

Yes, sold is what I was looking for--I think my brain was fried when I posted so my apologies for not being more specific. Thanks much for your reply! I'm so glad you guys are here to answer questions from nincompoops like me!

Just wanted to double check but let's say the loan is going to be 100% sold without recourse and the loan amount has reached the threshold where you have to get prior board approval, can we avoid this step since it is being participated and won't be included in the total once it is sold?

If the loan is on your books for one second, then Regulation O rules apply. "Going to be sold" doesn't count.