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President Obama has announced he will nominate community banker Allan Landon to serve on the Fed Board of Governors. Landon’s community banking experience sets him apart from other members of the Federal Reserve -- economists, policymakers and bankers who built their careers at larger firms. Landon began his community banking career as CFO of Tennessee-based First American in 1998. In 2000, Landon was hired by the Bank of Hawaii Corporation as a chief risk officer and went on to become CEO. Most recently, Landon has worked with the $50 million Community BanCapital fund, which aimed to bolster the capital position of community banks by investing in their subordinated debt.
Sunrise Banks has become one of the first Public Benefit Corporations in Minnesota. The state recently passed legislation offering the new classification, which allows corporations to elect to pursue social and environmental goals alongside shareholder profits. Although Sunrise had already received B Corp certification from B Lab, the new legislation provides legal accommodation for the status. “Our organization is full of people who are passionate about giving back and creating positive change,” says Sunrise CEO David Reiling. “Across the bank our people want to be a part of an organization that does more than just make money. That makes it not only simpler, but a priority for Sunrise Banks to become a Benefit Corporation.”
David Reiling, CEO of St. Paul, Minn. based Sunrise Banks has been named one of Trust Across America’s Top 100 Thought Leaders for 2015. The award recognizes leaders who are transforming the way organizations do business. "Trust is at the cornerstone of Sunrise Banks’ culture and in the DNA of all levels of the organization,” Reiling said. “With trust, employees are allowed to 'punch above their weight' and think outside the parameters, setting the organization up for ten times the growth compared to if hands and ideas are tied and held back. With a trust based organization, there is a much bigger future... It takes leadership and courage to insist on the consistency of open and honest communication and integrity of actions by all."
CDBA Member Carver Federal Savings Bank seeks a Chief Credit Officer to monitor and manage credit risk within the bank and its lending activities, including evaluating credit processes and actively participating in approval and risk management processes. This position reviews credits prior to submission to management loan committee and provides feedback to lenders.
New York City's Spring Bank is putting new innovations in behavioral economics into practice to help low-income customers improve their finances. Recent scholarship in the field focuses on how incentives can be structured to "nudge" people toward good decisions. Spring Bank's Borrow-and-Save loan puts that concept into practice. It encourages savings by requiring borrowers to put 25% of the loan amount into a savings account that can only be accessed at the end of the loan term. A customer who borrows $500 would receive $375. The other $125 would be set aside as savings. "If we come out with a sustainable, responsible product, we're going to cut the legs out from under some other products," says Brian Blake, Spring Bank vice president.
When Ridgeland, Miss.-based BankPlus started offering its Credit Plus product as a safe alternative to payday loans, CEO Bill Ray expected most of the business would be from financially precarious low-income borrowers. But Ray was surprised to find that many customers were not low-income -- rather, they were middle-income borrowers who had fallen on hard times and "never had any financial literacy training and got caught up in the payday lending habit." The product offers low-interest loans up to $1,000 for consumers who agree to open accounts at the bank and enroll in a financial literacy seminar. To date, 14,500 have received consumer loans from the bank and 80% of those borrowers still have accounts at the bank.
The CDFI Fund is soliciting public comment on the Bank Enterprise Award Program Application. The CDFI fund has asked for specific comment on the practical utility of data being collected in the application and how they can enhance the quality of that information. The Fund also seeks input on the burden of assembling the data and suggestions for easing the burden, including through technology. In addition, the Fund has requested estimates of costs of operation required to provide the requested information. All comments must be submitted by February 23, 2015.
Virginia Community Capital President and CEO and CDBA Chairman Jane Henderson has been appointed to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe's Commonwealth Council on Bridging the Nutritional Divide. The council aims to eliminate childhood hunger with nutritional assistance programs, increase access to healthy local foods, and facilitate local healthy-living initiatives. Virginia Community Capital is doing its part with a loan to Seven Hills Food, which plans to open a meat processing facility in Lynchburg. The plant is expected to create a new market for local farmers while creating 43 jobs. “VCC is excited to be able to help Seven Hills Food expand meat processing capacity across Virginia, thereby increasing the Commonwealth’s residents’ access to local foods," said Senior Loan Officer Dawn DeHart.
Southern Bancorp of Arkadelphia, Ark. is buying Bank of Bolivar County, a small $15.9 million-asset Mississippi Delta bank. Bank of Bolivar County has two locations: one full-service office and one limited service branch. These will build on Southern Bancorp Bank's presence in Bolivar County, where it currently operates one branch. The acquisition marks a step forward for Southern Bancorp's efforts to increase the availability of capital to Mississippi residents; the bank is also in the process of adding its third branch in Hot Springs, Miss.
The modifications to Dodd-Frank included in the recent omnibus bill marks what could be the first in a series of attempts to modify the regulatory legislation. With Republican majorities taking hold in the House and Senate and some Democrats showing willingness to compromise on the legislation, Wall Street advocates see an opportunity to secure less restrictive regulations. Among the likely flashpoints is a proposal to restructure the CFPB by allowing Congress to set its budget and setting agency policy with a bipartisan commission rather than a single director. Regulatory relief is also a likely target, including new requirements that agencies pursue more cost-benefit analysis when writing rules.