Recent News
Hearings and bill mark-ups are commonplace in many committees in the House of Representatives and Senate every day. These routine-but-important parts of the legislative process are great opportunities to leverage your advocacy goals. A hearing or mark-up is a perfect opportunity to activate your advocates with a specific call to action (CTA). Your advocacy appeal can be issued before a hearing, during, after, or "all of the above" for maximum effect. Beyond your traditional email, text and social media campaign you can get a little more disruptive and creative for maximum effect. More... Read more
On Tuesday, October 22, CDBA Members Kenneth Kelly of First Independence Bank and Jeff Bowman of Bay Bank testified before the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions in a hearing titled, "An Examination of the Decline of Minority Depository Institutions and the Impact on Underserved Communities."
Be inquisitive and never stop learning. Those were two pieces of advice Bob Jones, CEO and President of United Bank, shared with Harbert College of Business students on Monday, October 14. "Things change so quickly that what you learn today, by the time you get into the workplace, it's going to be dramatically different. If you think you know it all, and you stop, it's going to blow by you in a heartbeat." United Bank is a full-service community bank in Atmore that serves southwest Alabama, and parts of the Florida Panhandle. Jones, a former accountant and U.S. Navy... Read more
The CDFI Fund and BCT Partners are excited to announce that registration is now open for the "Expanding the Capacity of CDFIs to Serve People with Disabilities" in-person trainings in Los Angeles, CA and Philadelphia, PA. "Access for All" is a training and technical assistance series offered through the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund's (CDFI Fund) Capacity Building Initiative to increase the impact and reach of CDFIs in support of the economic development goals of people with disabilities. Through the "Access for All" series, the CDFI Fund will endeavor to increase the... Read more
The StoryBank Project is a CDBA initiative to capture success stories of our member banks. These stories show how underserved communities benefit directly from mission-based banking and financial services. Our latest video highlights Metro Bank in Louisville, Kentucky. Their client, Kidwell's Auto Beautification, employs dozens of community members, including formerly incarcerated people. Another client, Omni Medical Center, was given a loan by Metro Bank to serve underserved areas of Louisville.
In 2016, Fahe, a regional Network, financial intermediary, and CDFI, received $50 million in loan awards from the USDA Community Facilities Relending Program to pursue its mission: ending persistent poverty in Appalachia. Among its numerous initiatives, Fahe sought to build several community facilities, including daycare and opioid-addiction rehabilitation centers. However, borrowers may not use awards for construction projects. The timing was also sensitive, as these USDA funds must be drawn by September 30, 2021. Fahe needed construction money, and it turned to Virginia Community... Read more
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathleen L. Kraninger announced the appointment of members to the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), Community Bank Advisory Council (CBAC), Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC), and Academic Research Council (ARC). These experts advise Bureau leadership on a broad range of consumer financial issues and emerging market trends. Valerie Quiett, SVP and Chief Legal Officer at M&F Bank in Durham NC, was named to the CBAC.
The idea of investing with a social purpose is gaining ground. The broad category of sustainable and responsible investing grew 38 percent in the United States from 2016 to the start of 2018, to $12 trillion in assets under management, according to the US SIF Foundation. That represented one out of every four dollars of the $46.6 trillion under management, the group noted. A wide range of investments were held, including mutual funds, annuities, E.T.F.s and closed-end funds. Morningstar reported that 2018 marked the third consecutive year of record flows into sustainable funds; the number... Read more
Virginia Community Capital will host the 2019 Learning Exchange at the Science Museum of Virginia on December 11. This year's Learning Exchange, themed "What's Next", will feature five different speakers delivering a TED-style talk lasting no more than 12 minutes each on trends impacting our communities such as housing, impact investing, technology, and clean energy. The Learning Exchange's main goal is to provide frameworks/ideas the statewide audience can easily digest and apply to their unique communities. These ideas tend to challenge conventional thinking, offer tools... Read more
The New York Fed unveiled a new tool—the Credit Insecurity Index—to provide policymakers and the broader public with a more comprehensive measure of credit access and community credit health. Unlike other metrics that focus on residents without a credit file or score, the Credit Insecurity Index also includes individuals who may have credit files but are limited in their ability to borrow at affordable terms due to blemishes on their records. A new series of reports—Unequal Access to Credit: The Hidden Impact of Credit Constraints—offers in-depth analysis using... Read more
JPMorgan Chase announced Tuesday a $25 million commitment to the Financial Health Network's Financial Solutions Lab, a program meant to focus on the creation of fintech tools to help consumers better manage their finances.The Financial Health Network (formerly the Center for Financial Services Innovation) previously received a $30 million philanthropic donation from the bank that spanned the last five years. JPMorgan also unveiled a new branch in the Harlem section of New York City that will feature a digital innovation lab. It will test new ways to use digital channels to rapidly assist... Read more
BankPlus and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas presented a check for $8,000 to Lauderdale County Habitat for Humanity to create a marketing plan and website. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that provides housing for low-income working families. The agency has put 78 families in homes over the last 30 years in Lauderdale County. The organization does not have a website, but uses Facebook and Instagram to connect with the community. The website will be used to promote the organization, to collect donations and as a place for volunteers to sign up.
AB 857, which creates a legal pathway in California for public banks owned by city and county governments where cities and counties would deposit public dollars, was recently passed by the California Assembly. The governor has until October 13 to sign it into law. Progress on public banks in California will be closely watched in other states and cities where organizers and public officials have been pushing for public banks — including Washington State, New Mexico, Michigan, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, the Twin Cities, Portland, Seattle, and... Read more
On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department announced $25.2 million in Bank Enterprise Awards (BEA) by the US Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. 38 banks certified as CDFIs received awards for their efforts to channel $19.4 million of deposits into 18 CDFI credit unions to support their lending in distressed communities. In 2016, the Community Development Bankers Association and Inclusiv began working together to play matchmaker between CDFI banks participating in the BEA Program and CDFI credit unions. While traditional banks... Read more
Every year, B Lab recognizes the top-performing B Corps creating the greatest impact through their businesses. Honorees are recognized for having the highest environmental, community, customer, worker and overall impact by earning a score in the top 10% on the B Impact Assessment, as well as a list recognising B Corps with the greatest impact improvement (the changemakers). These businesses are proving that competing not only to be best in the world but best for the world is a winning strategy, and they can lead the way as mainstream businesses join our movement. This year, 4 CDBA members... Read more
City First Bank of DC has released their 2018 impact report in addition to an anthology highlighting their 25th anniversary. The anthology tells the historic and vibrant stories of social impact that have been critical to City First's community economic development over the past twenty-five years. City First was chartered with a mission of investing intentionally in low wealth neighborhoods to revitalize historic corridors like U Street and H Street. City First is committed to nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and families. In this anthoogy, you will meet the social entrepreneurs that dared to... Read more
Planters Bank announces that Alan Hargett is assuming the role of Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 2019. Hargett, a native of Ruleville, began his banking career with Planters as a management trainee in the Planters Indianola office in 1989 the same year he earned his Bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University. He currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Planters Bank. Hargett is a member of the Planters Board of Directors and serves on the board and executive committee of the Mississippi Bankers Association.
A decade after big banks needed government support to dig out of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve is slowly, but steadily, making a series of regulatory changes that could chip away at new requirements put in place to prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown. Some of the changes, seemingly incremental and technical on their own, could add up to a weakening of capital requirements installed in the wake of the crisis to prevent the largest banks from suffering the kind of destabilizing losses that imperiled the United States economy. Another imminent change will soften a rule intended... Read more
The Mississippi Backwater Flood of 2019 has been a devastating event for the residents of the South Delta in Mississippi. The people, farms, businesses, homes, and wildlife have been affected for months with the impact lasting for years to come. Bank of Anguilla has been a huge part of the community for 115 years and will continue to support and provide relief to the South Delta in helping overcome this disaster.
Legacy Bank and Trust invited Rep. Billy Long (MO-07) to their offices over the Congressional Recess to discuss the importance of CDFIs in the community. Pictured from left to right are: Brandon Taylor, CFO of Legacy Bank; Rep. Billy Long (MO-07); John Everett, President and CEO of Legacy Bank; and Brett Mager, Chief Lending Officer of Legacy Bank.