Recent News
The number of community development banks is rising at a time when the ranks of other financial institutions are shrinking. The special-purpose banks — a subset of community development financial institutions — serve low- and moderate-income communities. By becoming CDFIs, banks — along with credit unions and other types of lenders — can apply for certain funding from the Treasury Department and other agencies.
First Southwest Bank and Bank of Anguilla discuss the reasons why they became CDFI certified banks and Jeannine Jacokes of the ... Read more
Industrial Bank of Washington, D.C., typically opens 300 new accounts in six months. Thanks to the social media campaign #BankBlack, the bank opened 3,000 new accounts for a total of $6 million in just two months.
Emboldened by supportive comments from presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, community development banks including BankPlus, Neighborhood National Bank & Southern Bancorp are asking regulators for more leniency in areas such as disclosure fees and Bank Secrecy Act enforcement. The Community Development Bankers Association sent a letter in late June to Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen and other high-ranking Fed officials highlighting the trade group's concerns with elements of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bank... Read more
Mississippi has more CDFIs per capita than any other state. Its financial ecosystem is a unique place, where bankers and residents are coming to see one another as allies despite a difficult history. CDFI's are leading the way. "If we don't help our community, the community’s going to die" says Huey Townsend, President and CEO of Guaranty Bank & Trust. Powered by nearly $2.5 million in awards from the CDFI Fund, his institution has emerged as a leader in providing financial services to the poor, along with a handful of others including Bank of Anguilla... Read more
First Security Bank & Trust is a recipient of the 2016 Innovation in Financial Education Award presented by NASDAQ and EverFi. The award recognizes First Security’s efforts to improve the financial capability of Americans through unique digital learning initiatives. First Security has partnered with EverFi to bring Common Cent$ to local students at no cost to schools or taxpayers, and has reached over 1,100 students since 2011.
Neighborhood Bancorp, the holding company for Neighborhood National Bank, announced today a definitive agreement that will result in doubling the bank's capital. The investment of $6 million is led by Stephen Taylor, Chairman of Chicago-based Taylor Asset Management, who is a noted investor in California community banks. "This agreement represents an important step in recapitalizing and positioning the bank for future growth," said Dan Yates, Neighborhood Bank's President and CEO.
American Banker has released their 2016 list of best banks to work for. CDBA Members Guaranty Bank and Trust, FNBC Bank, Community Bank and Bankplus all made the list.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta are holding a one-day forum on CDFI banking in the Southeast region, in partnership with CDBA, the National Bankers Association and the National Community Investment Fund. Topics will include economic and demographic trends affecting the Southeast, the financial performance of CDFI banks and strategic partnership opportunities. Distinguished speakers will include Atlanta Fed EVP, Bank Supervision and Regulation Michael Johnson, CDFI Fund Director Annie Donovan and FDIC Senior Deputy Director Sylvia Plunkett. The... Read more
Over the last few years a small CDFI bank in Kansas, CBW Bank, has become a secret weapon for fintech companies. These tech innovators rely on both CBW’s technology and status as a state-chartered bank to build their own businesses. The bank’s tech roots started when Suresh Ramamurthi, an ex-Google engineer, and his wife Suchitra Padmanabhan, a former Wall Street banker, purchased CBW Bank. Frustrated with the bank’s cumbersome back office software, Ramamuthi decided to build the tech tools he needed himself. After several years, he had built a platform layered on top of the bank’s older... Read more
Guaranty Bank & Trust Company, based in Belzoni, Mississippi, has opened a new branch location in Grenada. The bank also announced it will add three Granada locals as relationship bankers on the Grenada staff. "Our commitment to Grenada is certainly affirmed with the conversion of a Loan Production Office to a full-service branch along with completing construction of a local office," said President and Chief Executive Officer Hue Townsend. "Our Grenada personnel are comprised of professionals who are long-time investors of the Grenada community. I am confident that our... Read more
City First Bank of D.C. has released its 2015 annual report, documenting a year of impact in underserved areas of the nation’s capital. In 2015, City First made $27 million in new loans and deployed $26 million in New Markets Tax Credit equity. The Atlas Performing Arts Center, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, was one organization that benefited from City First’s support. When Jane Lang set out to raise the $24 million it would take to repair the dilapidated theater, most traditional banks warned her against investing in such a distressed neighborhood. “City First... Read more
Michel Poignant thinks the industry is approaching mobile wallets the wrong way. The PayToo CEO believes companies should focus their efforts on adding services that consumers value rather than putting technology such as NFC at the center of mobile wallets. CDBA member City National Bank of New Jersey is now working with PayToo to expand its reach. As part of this strategic alliance, PayToo markets the bank's products and services nationally under the PayToo brand. Customers can perform all of their banking on the PayToo wallet, including depositing their paycheck, topping... Read more
Peoples Bank partnered with SBA in 1989 to help Mississippian’s start, build and grow businesses. Twenty-seven years later, 642 small businesses have been able to grow and develop because of this partnership. Peoples Bank continues to receive outstanding awards for their commitment and dedication to helping grow local small businesses. SBA executives presented the award recently at the Mississippi event held in Jackson. Janita Stewart, SBA District Director, commented, “Congratulations again…Peoples Bank really makes a difference in entrepreneurial development and... Read more
OneUnited Bank has announced a partnership with BMe Community, a national network of black male leaders dedicated to building prosperous communities. OneUnited will become BMe Community’s preferred bank with a $1 million initial deposit. Both organizations place a strong emphasis on the importance of strengthening the black community through initiatives that focus on economics, community development, entrepreneurship and technology. “It’s a matter of integrity,” said Trabian Shorters, CEO of BMe Community. “If a foundation, corporation or association says they want to help... Read more
Chicago’s Urban Partnership Bank has launched a campaign to raise at least $15 million in new equity. The bank's chairman, David Vitale, is meeting with CEOs of locally headquartered banks like Northern Trust, PrivateBancorp, Wintrust Financial and MB Financial to help the bank recapitalize. Urban Partnership is operating under an Aug. 5 consent order with state and federal bank regulators that requires it to raise capital and pursue a new business plan. Investing in Urban Partnership could appeal to local bankers because, as a CDFI, an investment in UPB will give their... Read more
Sunrise Banks sponsored the third annual TEDxMinneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event fosters the sharing of ideas between Minneapolis’ most innovative thinkers and groups. This year, with the help of EventLab, Sunrise brought the concept of “speed volunteering” to TEDx and created an interactive booth where attendees could volunteer for Fraser, Minnesota’s largest and most experienced provider of autism services. Attendees at the booth spent 5-10 minutes making sensory toys for use with the children in Fraser’s programs. "The people who took part had fun, learned... Read more
Neighborhood Bancorp in San Diego, holding company of Neighborhood National Bank, has an agreement in place to raise $6 million from Chicago's Taylor Asset Management in Chicago. The deal will effectively double the bank's capital, raising the bank's Tier 1 capital ratio to more than 18% and its total risk-based capital to more than 38%. "This agreement represents an important step in recapitalizing and positioning the bank for future growth," said Dan Yates, the bank's president and chief executive. Taylor Asset Management has been involved in the turn arounds of several... Read more
Can a bank be beneficial to all and harmful to none?
Does your bank do only good and no harm? Do you know? Beneficial State Bank aims to bank in a way that is beneficial to all and harmful to none. It’s more than a platitude. They proactively measure themselves against goals such as how many affordable housing units they have financed, how many kilowatt hours of clean energy their loans have produced and how many millions of dollars they have loaned non-profits.
Kat Taylor and her husband set out to create a business that would do social good with a sustainable business model... Read more
Cachet Financial Solutions, Inc. and Central Bank of Kansas City have rolled out an end-to-end reloadable prepaid card program for banks, credit unions and alternative financial services providers. Powered by Central Bank of Kansas City's program managmenet and Cachet's award-winning Select Mobile Money technology, the new card program provides a more convenient way for financial institutions and marketing organizations to offer general purpose reloadable prepaid cards. It also makes card usage more engaging and convenient for customers. The companion mobile app can be... Read more
Black and Latino interns and professionals from across Chicago’s financial industry attended the third annual Summer Intern Career Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago organized by the Financial Services Pipeline Initiative. The initiative was co-founded by Urban Partnership Bank to increase the representation of Latinos and African Americans at all levels of Chicago’s financial industry. African-Americans and Latinos make up 38% of the Chicago area population but are only employed in 22% of jobs in Chicago’s financial services industry. Only 5% of executives... Read more