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CDBA CEO Jeannine Jacokes wrote to the House Financial Services and Small Business Committees urging that the next recovery package addressing the current health and economic crisis provide meaningful support for low- and moderate-income communities. To ensure resources are directed to the most severely impacted people and places, CDBA asks that Congress provide $1 billion for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve to create a meaningful set-a-side within its Main Street program for CDFIs and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), and ensure that half of any further funding for the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program is specifically earmarked for CDFIs, MDIs and small banks under $10 billion that will target the resources for borrowers in low- and moderate-income communities.
Major banking trades, including the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA), American Bankers Association (ABA), Bank Policy Institute (BPI), Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), National Bankers Association (NBA), and National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL), are collectively urging Congress to appropriate $1 billion for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to aid in economic recovery in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In letters to House and Senate leadership, as well as Appropriations Committees, Financial Services and General Government Subcommittees, and authorizing committees, the banking trades described the CDFI industry's track record of promoting economic stabilization, job preservation and creation, and addressing community needs that would enable them to effectively channel federal funds into the low-income communities they serve.
The stakes are high for the financial services industry as lawmakers battle over the details of a new stimulus package to provide economic relief for businesses and consumers affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Although Senate Democrats blocked a vote on a package sponsored by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a whole host of provisions benefiting banks, credit union and other financial firms appears still to be on the table in McConnell's plan and other proposals being floated on Capitol Hill. McConnell's package included several industry-backed measures intended to make it easier for banks to lend and protect client funds. His bill would authorize an expansion of Federal Reserve liquidity programs, delay a controversial new accounting standard for loan losses, give the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. the authority to guarantee business transaction accounts, provide regulatory relief for troubled debt restructurings, and ease a capital requirement for community banks. Democrats, who decried Senate Republicans' package as putting corporations over workers and families, have offered up a number of their own proposals to help consumers in the midst of the pandemic. These proposals include a temporary cap on interest rates for consumer loans, a moratorium on negative credit reporting, and a temporary ban on overdraft fees. Here is a cheat sheet of the proposals that have been floated by Republicans and Democrats as Congress is working out how to provide relief to banks and consumers during the national emergency.
On Wednesday, November 20th, the Clinton Foundation hosted the "Economic Inclusion and Growth: The Way Forward" conference at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the CDFI Fund and to honor the leaders of the CDFI industry. At the conference, Former President Bill Clinton recognized CDBA CEO Jeannine Jacokes by discussing her role as the leader of the trade association for CDFI banks, as well as a leader in the loan fund space as the CEO of Partners for the Common Good (PCG). Specifically, he lauded the recent work of CDBA and PCG on the Impact at Scale Initiative, the first industry training program focused on large-scale impact.
The StoryBank Project is a CDBA initiative to capture success stories of our member banks. These stories show how underserved communities benefit directly from mission-based banking and financial services. Our latest video highlights Metro Bank in Louisville, Kentucky. Their client, Kidwell's Auto Beautification, employs dozens of community members, including formerly incarcerated people. Another client, Omni Medical Center, was given a loan by Metro Bank to serve underserved areas of Louisville.