News
CDBA is proud to welcome Kristy Esquibel (First Southwest Bank, Durango, CO) and Mike Vincent (United Bank, Atmore, AL) to our Board of Directors!
Kristy Esquibel serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer at First Southwest Bank. She holds a bachelor's degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, an MBA from Colorado State University, Pueblo, and a banking certification from Western States School of Banking. Kristy has served as the President of the Alamosa Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as a board member for Alamosa Chamber Foundation and First Southwest Community Fund.
Michael R. Vincent joined United Bank in 2006 and became President and CEO of both United Bank and United Bancorporation of Alabama, Inc. in 2021. Mr. Vincent received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Mississippi State University. He is also a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor in 1995, and a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. Mr. Vincent serves on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Bankers Association and Central Alabama Title Center, as well as a Director of UB Community Development.
CDBA would like to thank outgoing board members Hope Johnson (Friend Bank) and Kent Curtis (First Southwest Bank) for their years of dedication and service.
Pravina Raghavan has resigned as the Director of the CDFI Fund, effective June 27th. At this time, we do not have information on her replacement. Please join us in thanking Director Raghavan for her service and in wishing her well in her future endeavors. Stay tuned for future communications.
"Ever since the House of Representatives narrowly passed its version of the reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBB), at the end of May, most of the attention has rightly been focused on its potential impacts on the federal deficit and steep cuts to safety-net programs like Medicaid and SNAP. But for housing and community development stakeholders, there are some silver linings tucked into the BBB. These mostly come in the form of enhancements to certain federal programs that provide tax advantages to qualified housing and community development investments."
"The Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to establish requirements on how companies account for government grants in their financial reports, following awards provided in recent years as pandemic-related and other relief.
The standard setter on Wednesday voted, 4-3, to require U.S. public and private companies to record the value of grants they've received. Most companies already voluntarily do this by applying an existing standard on government-aid accounting from the FASB's international counterpart, the London-based International Accounting Standards Board. "
"Today, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Trump's $9.4 billion rescission request—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, underscored in how Republicans passing the package would devastate local public radio and TV stations nationwide, gut investments Congress has made to support longstanding bipartisan foreign policy objectives, and undermine the bipartisan annual appropriations process."
"For now, the wave of support appears to have held any staffing cuts at bay, Jeannine Jacokes, CEO of the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA), said in an interview. In late March, the Treasury Department issued a statement affirming that the CDFI fund and related programs are statutorily authorized. The statement also said that senior Treasury leadership has consistently expressed support for CDFIs, that the CDFI Fund is operating normally and that Treasury does not anticipate any disruptions.
'People in Treasury told us that they heard from offices all over the Hill,' Jacokes said. 'House and Senate, both Democrats and Republicans...The bipartisan support that CDFIs have built over many years seems to be holding strong.'"
"Russ Vought's relationship with Republican appropriators was already strained. Then he started talking about pursuing the ultimate end-run around their funding power heading into the fall.
The White House budget director has been persistently touting the virtues of 'pocket rescissions,' a tactic he has floated as a way to codify the spending cuts Elon Musk made while atop his Department of Government Efficiency initiative, and which the federal government's top watchdog says is illegal."
"The CDFI Fund, part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, provides detailed data on CDFI loans and investments. Using the most recent Consumer Loan Reports and Transaction Level Reports1 from 2018 to 2022, this analysis highlights the role that consumer lending2 plays at CDFIs across the Eighth Federal Reserve District (PDF) and the U.S.
As previously noted, CDFIs provide financing for various purposes, such as supporting small businesses, financing real estate development, making consumer loans, and more. Consumer lending comprises the largest portion of CDFI financing over this period, accounting for 35% of the $254 billion in total CDFI financing by dollar amount, and an even larger 88% of the nearly 20,000 total number of loans made."
"U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today released legislative text within the Finance Committee's jurisdiction for inclusion in Senate Republicans' budget reconciliation bill."
CDBA has attached the full section-by-section summary below. Click on the link to Subchapter C addressing community development finance related tax provisions. Other provisions of interest to mission-focused banks may include Subchapter D - 70435 Exclusion of Interest on Loans Secured by Rural or Agricultural Real Property (ACRE Act) and Chapter 5, Subchapter A - Termination of "Green New Deal Subsidies."
Please contact Brian Blake with any questions on appropriations or advocacy.
"President Donald Trump's budget chief is trying out an audacious strategy to eliminate congressionally approved funding without lawmakers' sign-off.
Russ Vought, who leads the Office of Management and Budget, has directed a dozen federal agencies to freeze upward of $30 billion in spending on a broad array of programs, including ones at NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, write Scott Waldman and Corbin Hiar.
The plan is to delay that funding until the final weeks of the fiscal year, which runs until Sept. 30. Then, the White House will ask Congress to permanently eliminate the funding through a so-called rescission request."