News

American Banker | Tuesday, July 9, 2024

"The Federal Reserve's chief regulator praised industry efforts to expand access to financial services but cautioned that such initiatives can present financial stability risks.

While banks have played a 'pivotal role' in improving financial inclusion, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said their reliance on financial technology, or fintech, partners to do so creates risks that must be carefully managed.

'Innovations in banking services are important to improving financial inclusion,' Barr said. 'But to have a durable impact on society, innovations must be adopted responsibly.'"

24-7 Press Release | Tuesday, July 9, 2024

"The Mission Driven Bank Fund (MDBF) today announced its second close of $65 million, bringing the Fund to over $177 million of capital dedicated to supporting FDIC-insured Minority Depository Institution (MDI) and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) banks in closing the racial wealth gap.

The Fund welcomed new limited partners, which include banks with assets ranging from $6 billion to over $150 billion. Some of the bank limited partners participating in the second close include Lake City Bank, Enterprise Bank & Trust, Hancock Whitney Bank, and Banner Bank."

Independent Banker | Monday, July 1, 2024

Congratulations to all of our members included on ICBA's 2024 Top Lenders lists!

"Whether it's navigating tumultuous markets or providing employees with remote work options, flexibility is a key component in the success of this year's ICBA top lenders. These community banks have stepped up to thoughtfully support customers' goals from application to completion."

American Banker | Friday, June 21, 2024

"The Senate Banking Committee will consider the nomination of Christy Goldsmith Romero to chair the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on July 11, the panel announced.

Goldsmith Romero, who currently sits on the board of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was just recently announced as the Biden administration's pick to lead the FDIC in the wake of a workplace misbehavior scandal at the agency.

The committee, in the same hearing, will also consider the nominations of Caroline Crenshaw to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kristin Johnson to be assistant secretary of financial institutions at the Treasury Department and Gordon Ito to be a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council with expertise in insurance."

badcredit.org | Thursday, June 20, 2024

"Technology has changed the way financial services companies operate. As financial institutions innovate and develop new solutions, an unfortunate side effect of the banking industry's growth is that some communities have been marginalized or ignored.

Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA) began in the early 2000s and is the national trade association of the community development bank sector. The organization has enjoyed stable leadership — Jeannine Jacokes has been CDBA's CEO since it began.

The association started shortly after the establishment by the U.S. Treasury Department of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which offers community development banks resources and programs that invest federal dollars to help them support economically disadvantaged communities."

CFPB | Saturday, June 15, 2024

The CFPB has released its Fair Lending Annual Report to Congress, describing how the agency took action against unlawful discrimination and advanced access to fair credit in calendar year 2023.

"Because Congress charged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with the responsibility of overseeing many lenders and products, the CFPB has long used a risk-based approach to prioritizing supervisory examinations and enforcement activity. This approach helps ensure that the CFPB focuses on areas that present substantial risk of credit discrimination for consumers and small businesses..."

American Banker | Friday, June 14, 2024

"After a huge infusion of capital from the Treasury Department, community development financial and minority depository institutions needed deposits. A lot of deposits. So, they banded together to create a program for socially minded investors seeking to make an impact while ensuring their funds are safe.

'This is a new-money program,' said Brian Argrett, CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based City First Bank. 'It opens the window to start a deposit relationship and then to be able to figure out, in collaboration with that depositor, how else we can satisfy our mutual goals, particularly within the local market, low-and-moderate-income communities and communities of color.'"

POLITICO | Friday, June 14, 2024

"President Joe Biden's appointment of Christy Goldsmith Romero to head the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will put the longtime regulator atop a powerful agency that's been torched by findings of rampant harassment and toxic behavior.

If she's approved by the Senate, repairing that culture will be her first job. But she'll also be tasked with policing more than 4,500 banks that hold about $24 trillion in assets. And if you know Goldsmith Romero, you know she takes a dim view of regulators who downplay their enforcement responsibilities.

Here's how Goldsmith Romero once described her responsibilities as special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the massive government bank rescue operation where she was charged with leading 140 people (including 85 special agents) who investigated fraud, waste and abuse at financial institutions:

'I knew that we could not turn to the bank regulators to point us to the fraud,' she said, describing her efforts to develop 'innovative techniques' to identify bad behavior. In some cases, she said, 'bankers have been going to jail and being sentenced to prison.'"

House Appropriations Committee | Thursday, June 13, 2024

The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee has approved the Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act. The top line for the CDFI Fund is $276.6 million, which is approximately $48 million below the FY 24 enacted levels and the FY 25 budget request. Within that total, the draft bill recommends reductions for Bank Enterprise Award, FA/TA funding, Small Dollar loans, and no funding for Healthy Food Financing and Economic Mobility. NACA appropriations increase by $ 10 million.

American Banker | Tuesday, June 11, 2024

"State Street Corp. in Boston has picked three more minority banks to receive a portion of the $100 million of deposits it plans to place this year at some of the nation's minority depository institutions.

Carver State Bank in Savannah, Georgia; Citizens Trust Bank in Atlanta; and Ponce Bank in New York City will each receive an undisclosed amount of deposits as part of State Street's program to provide low-cost, stable deposits to MDIs and community development financial institutions. The trio joins Optus Bank in Columbia, South Carolina, and M&F Bank in Durham, North Carolina, the first two recipients of State Street's deposits."

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