Recent News
Virginia Community Capital has partnered with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation to finance the renovation of the historic Hayden High School into a senior residential and community center. Construction has been on hold for two years due to multiple setbacks, but is now slated to resume promptly and to be completed by July 2018. The building, named after the daughter of a freed slave, is... Read more
This article discusses a newly-developed graph that shows compellingly that income gains in recent decades have gone overwhelmingly to the ultrarich, not the middle class. The graph, produced by Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez and his frequent collaborators Thomas Piketty (EHESS) and Gabriel Zucman (Berkeley), used a mix of tax and survey data to give a portrait of how incomes have grown for each segment of the population from 1913 to the present.
The number of black-owned banks operating in the U.S. has been dropping steadily for the past 15 years and fell to 23 this year, the lowest level in recent history, according to the FDIC. The trend is worrisome to some analysts who argue fewer banks serving low-income, minority groups could expand “financial deserts”—communities with few or no banking institutions—and increase the likelihood that black and Hispanic communities could become susceptible to redlining. The article features a quote from Doyle Mitchell of Industrial Bank.
The Trump Administration's support for a reduction in the corporate tax break from 35% to 15% may be a blessing for the banking industry at large, but could do a good deal of harm to commercial banks that invest in the affordable housing market. This piece from the American Banker analyzes the potential impact of the new corporate tax rate on the viability of the LIHTC model.
On Thursday, August 3rd, Elvans Road Townhomes was launched as a part of the Single Family Investment Pilot, the first project of the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency’s Housing Investment Project. DCHFA is partnering with H2DesignBuild and City First Bank to construct five new townhomes in DC’s Barry Farm neighborhood. “CDHFA’s Housing Investment Platform is the type of innovate approach that is needed to create more affordable housing throughout DC,” said DC mayor Muriel Bowser. “The investment in Elvans Road Townhomes will put homeownership in reach for more Washingtonians,... Read more
Mission Valley Bank was one of 3 California banks to recently present donation checks to the future Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center, a 2.5-acre newly-developed site that will feature a banquet hall, fireplace lounge and library, six multipurpose rooms, fitness center, dance studio, and outdoor cabana. It is scheduled to open during the summer of 2018, but is still short roughly $1.75 million... Read more
A new study shows that core deposit growth may be the best indicator of which banks have true staying power in the years to come. A consultant with Capital Performance Group explained that low interest rates and a tough regulatory environment kept net interest margins largely flat last year, but as rates inch up, banks of all sizes are going to be increasingly hungry for core deposits.... Read more
Alan Hargett, executive vice president of Planters Bank & Trust Co. in Indianola, and... Read more
Sunrise Banks has received local coverage for its CDFI status.The article highlights the work of public-benefit corporations in the Twin Cities who have received designation as such from the Minnesota State Legislature, and features a quote from Sunrise Banks CEO David Reiling.
Virginia Community Capital has outgrown its office in downtown Richmond and is moving into a larger building in Henrico County. “After almost ten years, in our space downtown, we now require a larger space for our Richmond team. This is an exciting step for VCC, as it is indicative of our continued growth and impact across the state,” wrote Jane Henderson, CEO of VCC.
The CDFI Fund is issuing a call for well-qualified persons to serve as remote-location application reviewers for the 2017 application round of the Capital Magnet fund. Reviewers much have considerable expertise in community and economic development finance. The CDFI Fund has contracted with F2 Solutions to recruit reviewers. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis until 5pm EDT on... Read more
Urban Partnership Bank recently served as a sponsor for the 4th annual Financial Services Pipeline Intern Career Conference in Chicago; the conference aimed to expose more African Americans and Latinos to financial careers in an effort to increase interest and representation in this field. Urban Partnership Bank was among the various companies on hand to provide guidance, expertise, and... Read more
In response to the House Appropriations Committee’s approved top line at just $190 million for the CDFI Fund in FY2018, the Credit Builders Alliance asked its CDFI members to forward a survey to their borrowers. The results of the survey resoundingly disprove the contention that CDFIs are no longer needed, which President Trump insinuated in his budget blueprint by declaring that “the CDFI fund... Read more
According to a survey recently conducted by the American Bankers Association, Americans overwhelmingly believe that our economy needs banks of all sizes, and a majority is concerned about the falling number of banks. The survey demonstrated that Americans widely understand the benefits that banks bring to their communities: 79% agreed that they play an important role through financial education... Read more
A recent Forrester benchmarking study examined mobile offerings for retail customers of various banks and found that many of their mobile apps lacked functions that would not require a large investment by the banks to implement. Minor functions such as the ability to search for items within an app or the ability to sort transactions are often overlooked, which can hinder a user’s experience. For... Read more
Businesses and governments are going cashless. But one significant portion of the population is getting left out of this transition: people who lack access to traditional financial services like bank... Read more
Legacy Bank & Trust of Rogersville, Missouri has agreed to purchase Financial Enterprises Inc., the holding company of First National Bank of Clinton. Through the deal, Legacy will gain access to Clinton’s three branches and $70 million in assets. “Coming from a family-owned institution for over 120 years, I feel confident that we understand and appreciate the relationships built by First... Read more
WBUR Radio Boston recently interviewed Teri Williams, president and CEO of OneUnited Bank. She discussed the discrepancies between black and white homeownership in Boston, elaborating on issues of eligibility and describing her company’s involvement with the ONE Mortgage Program that is offered in Boston for first-time homebuyers. Through this program, OneUnited has partnered with MA-based... Read more
Oliver Wyman provides critical insight on non-financial payment reporting data or “alternative data”, which can improve access to credit for millions of Americans by overcoming two key limitations of today’s best lending practices and enhancing the accuracy of existing credit scores.
Tucked away in the last month’s regulatory form report by the Treasury Department was a nascent effort to reform the way regulators implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The CRA, a law intended to compel banks to offer loans and financial services to low- and moderate- income areas, has been criticized by community groups as out of step with modern banking practices. The report said that regulators need to “better align the benefits arising from banks’ CRA investments with the interest and needs of the communities they serve.”