CDFI Fund Announces Awards to CDBA Members
CDBA
(9-24-13)

Eight CDBA Members received $9.526 of a total of $12.3 million in awards to CDFI banks in the FY 2013 funding round of the CDFI Program. $172 million in awards were distributed in total by the CDFI Fund. Six of the CDBA members were awarded the maximum amount of $1,347,000. Congratulations to the following CDBA members who have received CDFI Core Awards: Central Bancshares of Kansas City – $597,000; CityFirst Enterprises – $847,000; First Eagle Bancshares – $1,347,000; Guaranty Capital Corporation – $1,347,000; Greater Chicago Financial Corp – $1,347,000; OnePacific Coast Bancorp – $1,347,000; Southern Bancorp Bank – $1,347,000 and Virginia Community Capital – $1,347,000. 

City First Foundation Presents Finance Summit
City First Foundation
(11-7-13)

The City First Family of Companies will be holding its inaugural finance summit, "The Resurgence of Neighborhoods: Fueling D.C.'s Economic Growth" on November 7, 2013 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington. The summit will focus on how small businesses, new housing options, increased transportation options and innovative financing are changing neighborhood dynamics, contributing to Washington's population growth and building the city's economic vitality. Speakers will discuss how the success of Washington's highly desirable neighborhoods can be replicated in underserved neighborhoods while avoiding gentrification that jeopardizes equity and cultural diversification. Attendees are encouraged to register here.

BankPlus and Journal Partners for Education
Madison County Journal
(9-18-13)

BankPlus and the Madison County Journal have partnered with the "Student 360" initiative, which highlights scholastic achievement in Madison County, Miss. The program features high school seniors from over a dozen area public and private schools. Each week for 13 weeks, the Madison County Journal will highlight a high school senior with a profile. In May, two of the students will win a cash scholarship from BankPlus. "BankPlus is committed to being a part of the communities in which we serve. We especially place a strong emphasis on education and supporting our local schools," said Donna Sims, President of BankPlus for Madison County.

Treasury Awards Over $172 Million to Organizations Serving Low-Income Communities
CDFI Fund
(9-24-13)

The CDFI Fund awarded 191 organizations Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards totaling over $172 million. This amount includes 10 awards totaling more than $22 million through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Credit unions, depository institutions, loan funds and venture capital funds collectively received $150,289,499 in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards. Ten CDFIs received $22.3 million in funding under the Healthy Food Financing initiative. The CDFI Fund also announced more than $12.4 million in awards from the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program). "The fiscal year 2013 round of the CDFI Program provides more awards than any other round in the CDFI Fund’s history. By expanding the reach and impact of this program to more organizations, the CDFI Fund is supporting more economic development efforts than ever before to bring new life to struggling communities,” said CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell. 

Mortgage Data Rule Changes to Lighten Banks' Burden: CFPB's Cordray
American Banker
(9-24-13)

Banks can expect changes to federal reporting requirements for mortgage data, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray. Cordray offered little detail on how institutions will report Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data differently than they do now, but said that one of the motivations for the changes will be to simplify the process for banks. Cordray also signaled that the bureau plans to release details on how banks' fair-lending requirements are included in the definition of "Qualified Mortgages." The QM rule, which is due to take effect in January, will create a special class of safe loans that will be deemed in compliance with CFPB criteria for evaluating a borrower's ability to repay. Cordray said the Bureau sought to combat the "four D's" threatening consumers: "discrimination," "deception," "debt traps" and the "dead ends" consumers face in trying to counter bad industry actors. Cordray's speech identified several practices that negatively affect borrowers, including discriminatory lending, bullying tactics by debt collectors, misleading customers about crucial loan information and predatory payday lending.

Some Smaller Banks Still Owe TARP Money
Wall Street Journal
(9-23-13)

Five years after the Troubled Asset Relief Program began, 113 small to midsize banks in the Capital Purchase Program(CPP) portfolio still owe the Treasury Department about $2.7 billion. The banks pose a challenge for the Treasury, which is eager to get rid of its financial stakes but is finding many of the banks too weak to forgo government capital. Repaying is about to get harder, as quarterly dividend payments owed are set to nearly double to 9%. Seventy-nine of the remaining banks are behind on dividend or interest payments, owing about $217 million to the government, according to the Treasury. Of those, 63 have missed 10 or more payments. "There are some institutions that we don't think can repay," said Timothy Massad, the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial stability. The department usually moves to sell those assets because, he said, "we don't want a financial system that is owned by the government." The Treasury has reaped a small profit on the program so far: Of the $204.9 billion that Treasury invested in banks, it had recouped $195.1 billion in principal and an additional $12 billion in interest and dividends as of last week. About $2.75 billion is still outstanding.

Lawmakers Likely to Pursue Piecemeal Approach to Regulatory Relief
American Banker
(9-23-13)

It is unlikely Congress will take up a comprehensive bill addressing legislative changes desired by community bankers anytime soon, according to several regulatory specialists. "We may be in an atmosphere now where we simply have to deal with legislation piece-by-piece, one bill at a time, as opposed to a large bill," said James Ballentine, chief lobbyist for the American Bankers Association. Ballentine said the association and others in the industry should continue to push for piecemeal reforms on a host of issues, including a delay of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability-to-pay rule, changes to the bank examinations process and repeal of an annual privacy notice requirement, in the hopes of grabbing lawmakers' attention. Panelists also underscored that, while some issues do need to be addressed by Congress, others remain in the hands of regulators.

Forget too big to fail: Some Banks Now too Small to Succeed
Los Angeles Times
(9-17-13)

Community bankers are finding it increasingly tough to survive, in part because they must commit more of their limited resources to complying with new regulations stemming from the financial crisis. That has increased pressures on the owners and directors of small banks to sell out to their larger brethren. At the end of 2007, the government insured 8,534 commercial banks and savings institutions — down 52% from 1984. The current count is 6,926, down 19% since the crisis began. Of the 1,608 banks that have disappeared since the financial crisis, nearly a third were shut down by regulators. The rest were attributed to consolidation. Most of the community banks that failed had overdosed on loans to land developers and home builders during the housing boom. A Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco analysis of return on assets highlighted the disparity between small and large banks, finding that banks with less than $1 billion in assets reported an average return of 0.7% in the second quarter this year, compared with 1.1% for banks with $1 billion or more.

 

Accion East Seeks Controller (New York, N.Y.)
The Controller is responsible for managing Accion East's yearly financial performance, in line with budgeted expectations including cash management and access to lending capital. The Controller will also assist in improving customer satisfaction by ensuring timely and courteous fulfillment of loan-related transactions, inquiries and processing for new and existing clients. The Controller reports to the CEO and the manages accounting department and service center.

 

Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund Seeks Program Manager(New York, N.Y.)
The Program Manager is responsible for managing the Access to Banking portfolio, focusing mainly on Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund's Bank On 2.0 project. Bank On 2.0 is a national, centralized approach to helping low-income families access safe and affordable banking products and services. The CFE Fund plans to build on the success of a broad range of existing programs in cities across the country that integrate large-scale safe banking opportunities through networks of city-provided social services. The Program Manager will report to the Chief Program Officer.

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