News
"The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) is convening a meeting of the Community Development Advisory Board (the Advisory Board) from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The Advisory Board meeting will be held in Cash Room at the U.S. Department of the Treasury located at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20220.
The function of the Advisory Board is to advise the Director of the CDFI Fund on the policies regarding the activities of the CDFI Fund. The Advisory Board does not advise the CDFI Fund on approving or declining any particular application for monetary or non-monetary awards.
Please use the following link to view the official meeting notice."
"On March 27, BankPlus and national disaster recovery nonprofit SBP, along with the City of New Orleans and partners, celebrated the groundbreaking of St. Claude Gardens II, a 39-unit affordable housing development aimed at fostering resilient, inclusive and sustainable housing opportunities in the Lower 9th Ward. The event took place at 2407 Tennessee Street.
BankPlus is providing a $6 million commercial real estate loan to help finance the project, and it is also investing in credits through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program that will provide an additional funding source. SBP is leading the project's development and construction.
SBP plans to build St. Claude Gardens II using resilient-building techniques and materials, including metal framing, to fortify the homes against extreme weather conditions. Solar panels will help reduce energy costs and minimize the project's carbon footprint.
'At BankPlus, we understand the impact affordable housing has on helping communities to thrive – especially in New Orleans - and we are thrilled to deliver the necessary funding to make St. Claude Gardens II happen. These structurally-sound, resilient homes will improve the housing options in the Lower Ninth Ward for neighbors and help restore this vibrant community. We see this project as a symbol of our commitment to New Orleans and our neighbors here, and we can't wait to see St. Claude Gardens II completed.' – Jeff Ehlinger, Executive Vice President and Louisiana President for BankPlus."
- "If your FDIC-insured bank or thrift is considering submitting an application to the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding round for the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program), you may find the following information helpful as you plan.
- The CDFI Fund anticipates opening the FY 2024 BEA Program application round in the spring of 2024. This will ensure that the CDFI Fund can review the applications and announce awards in fall of 2024.
- Only banks and thrifts can apply for the BEA Program. Bank holding companies and other financial institutions are not eligible to apply.
- BEA Applicants are not required to be Certified CDFIs to apply. However, the CDFI Certification status is a factor in the BEA Award calculation for most Qualified Activities.
- Applicants must have required ID numbers, including Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and Employer Identification Number (EIN), and up-to-date login credentials for System for Award Management (SAM.gov), Grants.gov, and the CDFI Fund's Awards Management Information System (AMIS). First-time applicants should set up their SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts today! See the 'Required ID Numbers and Accounts Needed to Apply to FY 2024 BEA Program' section below for more detail.
- Since program rules prohibit FDIC-insured banks or thrifts that are Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) from receiving a BEA Program Award and a CDFI Program Award in the same 12-month period or a pending CDFI Program application, please plan accordingly. See the "Eligibility Requirements for FY 2024 BEA Program Applicants with CDFI Fund Awards" section below for more detail."
"The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) is convening a meeting of the Community Development Advisory Board (the Advisory Board) from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The Advisory Board meeting will be held in Cash Room at the U.S. Department of the Treasury located at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20220.
The function of the Advisory Board is to advise the Director of the CDFI Fund on the policies regarding the activities of the CDFI Fund. The Advisory Board does not advise the CDFI Fund on approving or declining any particular application for monetary or non-monetary awards.
Please use the following link to view the official meeting notice."
"President Biden on Saturday signed a $1.2 trillion government funding bill to stave off a government shutdown, capping a frenetic sprint by lawmakers to pass the final batch of appropriations measures.
Biden praised the measure as a compromise, and 'good news for the American people. This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted.'
The House passed the legislation Friday with a bipartisan 286-134 vote, which spurred a push among some conservatives to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The bill passed the Senate in a 74-24 vote early Saturday morning following hours of intense negotiations.
The legislation provides $1.2 trillion in funding for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security (DHS), Labor, Health and Human Services, State, as well as general government, financial services and foreign operations."
"The Michigan Bankers Association recently named Kenneth Kelly, chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank, as the recipient of the 2024 MBA Banker of the Year award. Kelly is also vice chair of the ABA board.
Under Kelly's leadership, the Detroit-based minority depository institution has risen to become the seventh largest African American–controlled commercial bank in the country, according to MBA. Kelly led First Independence Bank's national expansion efforts with bank branches both in Detroit and in the Twin Cities through an unprecedented multi-bank collaborative effort. Over the last several years, First Independence Bank grew from approximately $250 million in assets to more than $600 million."
"Federal bank regulatory agencies today jointly issued an interim final rule that extends the applicability date of certain provisions in their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) final rule issued in October 2023. The agencies also requested comment on the extension.
To promote clarity and consistency, the agencies extended the applicability date of the facility-based assessment areas and public file provisions from April 1, 2024, to January 1, 2026. Therefore, banks will not have to make changes to their assessment areas or their public files as a result of the 2023 CRA final rule until January 1, 2026. This extension aligns these provisions with other substantive parts of the 2023 CRA final rule that are applicable on January 1, 2026. For example, all provisions about where banks are evaluated will now apply on the same date. Comments on the extended applicability date must be received 45 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register.
In addition, the agencies also issued technical, non-substantive amendments to the CRA final rule and related agency regulations that reference it. For example, one of these technical amendments clarifies that banks do not need to make changes to their public notices until January 1, 2026.
In October 2023, the agencies finalized updates to strengthen and modernize regulations implementing the CRA to better achieve the purposes of the law. The CRA is a landmark law enacted nearly 50 years ago to encourage banks to help meet the credit needs of their entire communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with banks' safe and sound operation."
"I've mentioned this in the past, but before I got into banking I used to be an environmental policy reporter, specifically covering hazardous waste and water quality policy issues. In environmental policy, a big part of the game is covering the courts because virtually every single rule the Environmental Protection Agency finalizes is challenged in court. A Supreme Court hearing is informally understood to be the final stage of the rulemaking process.
When I found my way into banking policy, one of the most noticeable differences was how infrequently banks sued their regulators — as in, it virtually never happened. And that wasn't because agencies weren't making new rules — this was during the long implementation phase of Dodd-Frank and Basel III, so agencies were making rules all the time. And banks didn't necessarily like those rules, either — they just didn't sue."
"U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today introduced a bill to encourage the formation of new banks in underserved and rural areas by easing federal regulatory restrictions that have stifled bank and capital availability in Mississippi and other states.
The Promoting Access to Capital in Underbanked Communities Act (S.3937) would encourage the formation of new de novo banks by instituting a three-year phase-in period during which newly-chartered banks would be given time to meet less stringent capital requirements as they adapt to a business model that aligns with the needs and circumstances of the communities they serve.
'We need more community banks in our towns that understand the needs of everyday Mississippians,' Hyde-Smith said. 'We need to find a path to overcome stifling banking regulators and other factors that limit banking options in rural and underserved communities. This legislation marks a step toward expanding credit accessibility for Mississippians, including small business owners, entrepreneurs, farmers, and the list goes on.'"
"House Majority Whip Tom Emmer talks about his fears for the future of small banks—and how to reverse course—and why his movement to ban the Fed from creating a CBDC has gained steam. He also tackles his predictions for the House elections this year, the CFPB's push against so-called "junk" fees and how he became one of the leading advocates for cryptocurrency in Congress."