Home
The CDFI Fund announced $22.8 million in 2017 Bank Enterprise Award grants to mission-focused banks for their service in high poverty communities. These awards were at risk of being rescinded by the Trump Administration’s proposed $15 billion cutbacks package. The rescission failed to pass by its June 22, 2018 deadline, and the 2017 BEA Awards were subsequently unfrozen and released.
The recently released Recission Package by the Trump Administration would claw back federal funds previously approved by Congress that promote private investment in low-income communities. The package freezes the release of over $15 billion in funding already appropriated in the FY2017 budget, including $22.8 million in funding for the U.S. Treasury's Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program and $151.3 million for the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF). “The elimination of the BEA Awards would curtail these initiatives, and have a detrimental effect on the economic stability of the regions they serve,” said Jeannine Jacokes, CEO of the Community Development Bankers Association.
Fifty years after the riots that followed the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Washington Post tells the story of Industrial Bank, a black-owned bank in Washington, DC that was founded during the Great Depression and survived the riots. Doyle Mitchell Jr., President and CEO, and his sister, Patricia Mitchell, are interviewed about the bank's history, mission, and survival. Before the riots, the bank cultivated a large and dedicated customer base. In the 50 years of operation since the riots, the bank has continued to grow, benefiting from a resergence along the U Street corridor that was once devastated by the unrest. "The city's population is increasing by almost 1,000 people a month. There is new development and housing going up," Doyle Mitchell said. "For our bank, the future is very bright."