Recent News
Southern Bancorp’s 2015 annual report describes the institution's growing impact. In 2015, Southern provided 2,726 individuals and families with financing for affordable housing and homeownership. It also supported 4,419 jobs through commercial, small business and microloans – over 75% of which were made in low to moderate income census tracts. Roger Perry was one entrepreneur who thrived with help from Southern. Roger built his auto detail business one car and one client at a time. It was that tenacity that attracted the attention of Southern Bancorp to provide the... Read more
Beneficial State Bank has completed its merger with Pan American Bank and is celebrating with a Toyota Prius giveaway. The merger will increase the size of Beneficial State to approximately $650 million in assets, allowing it to better meet the needs of underserved communities in the Central Valley and Los Angeles with financial products and services. “We are embarking on an exciting moment in our journey,” said Dan Skaff, Beneficial State Co-CEO and president. "We are bringing together extraordinary talent and partnering with innovative companies that provide forward-... Read more
Teri Williams, President of OneUnited Bank discussed the financial system's structural racism in a recent interview. “If you look at what has happened in the banking industry or financial services industry over the past 10 years, the black community was faced with predatory lending, we currently have payday lenders that charge rates as high as 400% on a short term loan, they charge fees to cash checks of 1% or more, and the legal framework, the regulatory framework allows this to exist… Black people spend $1.2 trillion annually. That is more than some whole countries spend... Read more
In an interview, Virginia Community Capital Community Programs Manager Leah Fremouw spoke about the benefits of the bank's status as a Certified B Corps. "[The B Corps designation] allowed us to elevate our social mission to the same significance as our shareholder value. 50% of our Board help develop social and environmental standards for industry, we give preference to local and sustainable suppliers, and our staff are given opportunities to have paid time off for community service. In late June we held an event in Old Town Petersburg, at Trapezium Brewery (a renovation... Read more
Black-owned banks across the country, including Savannah, Georgia-based Carver State Bank, are seeing an increase in applicants after recent protests against police brutality. "We've seen a tremendous increase in the number of inquiries about the bank and the number of accounts that have been opened," said Carver State Bank President Robert James. "In fact, on Monday and Tuesday of last week we probably opened as many accounts as we would probably open in a full month in two days... Most citizens can't take to the streets and demonstrate but they've found that one of the... Read more
Kat Taylor, Co-CEO of Oakland, Calif.-based Beneficial State Bank, was interviewed for the cover story of Conscious Company Magazine: “[Capital] has been deployed [in harmful ways] because it got anonymized. As soon as the banking system got big enough and the deposits all went into this big black box, then the bankers on the other side felt entitled to lend it to anything that would maximize return... I believe we can take the banking system back and make it govern in the public interest... We wouldn’t want depositors saying, ‘Lend to this company,’ or, ‘Lend to that... Read more
Community development information service Aeris has released a set of metrics intended as a starting point for CDFIs and other community investment institutions to collect and reporting standardized impact data. The toolkit evolved based on principles discussed at a series of meetings organized by Aeris, Partners for the Common Good and other organizations in the field. It is intended to advance a set of standardized metrics that would allow CDFIs to better understand their impact performance relative to peer institutions. The metrics allow both investors and investees to measure the... Read more
Deposits are up dramatically at black-owned banks across the country as a result of the Black Money Matters Project. The project started when a group of recording artists including Killer Mike and Usher urged their social media followers to support black-owned businesses in the wake of high-profile shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castileon by opening accounts at black-owned banks and credit unions. Boston-based OneUnited has brought in $3 million in deposits. Carver Federal Savings Bank in New York City has collected about $2.4 million in new... Read more
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta board of directors has elected Brian Argrett as its new District of Columbia member director. Mr. Argrett has served as president, chief executive officer, and director of City First Bank of D.C. since 2011. He also serves as chairman of the boards of directors for City First Enterprises and City First Foundation. Mr. Argrett currently serves as presidential appointee to the Community Development Advisory Board, chairman of the CDBA and director of the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership. “FHLBank Atlanta has been a reliable source of... Read more
A recent GAO report assesses the status of the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI). Created in 2010, CDCI is a TARP program intended to help mitigate the effects of the financial crisis on underserved communities. As of March 31, 2016, the Department of the Treasury had 76 percent of the original CDCI investment outstanding and 57 institutions remained. Many of the remaining institutions are financially healthy and likely will be able to repay the investment before dividend and interest rates increase in 2018. In some cases, however, the increase will likely force institutions... Read more
Partners for the Common Good (PCG) has released a new version of its CapNexus deal matching platform. CapNexus facilitates effective business relationships between capital seekers and capital providers by acting as a clearinghouse for ideas, experts and services. The new platform features an updated interface, refined search functionality and new promotional opportunities. It is free to sign up for CapNexus and start posting opportunity and deals. For more information about CapNexus membership, to request a demo or to learn more about promotional opportunities, please contact Carla... Read more
San Diego start-up Employee Loan Solutions is working with St. Paul-based Sunrise Banks to help workers who live paycheck to paycheck take out small-dollar loans. Their TrueConnect program offers short-term loans — ones that carry a high interest rate but are still cheaper than typical payday loans. Sunrise Banks was the first company to offer TrueConnect loans to its own employees. It conducted a yearlong trial starting in late 2013 at the request of federal bank regulators, who then approved the program. "Like any employer, we think we pay our employees well, so why... Read more
CDFI Bank Quontic Bank in New York has begun originating "Lite Doc" loans that feature streamlined income documentation requirements. But the new product also has stringent down-payment and credit score requirements, unlike no-doc, low-doc and stated-income mortgages from the early 2000s. The mortgages take advantage of Quontic’s CDFI status, which exempts the bank from the ability to repay and qualified mortgage rules. The exemptions were put in place to allow CDFIs to continue existing loan programs directed at underserved communities that might not meet the new, more stringent standards... Read more
Thanks to a Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and RiverHills Bank, Port Gibson, Miss. Resident Julia James was able to repair her roof and restore the foundation of her 80-year-old home. For years, James watched water drip through the ceiling of her bedroom and fill up the buckets she put out to catch the rain. James, who is on a fixed income, could not afford the critical home repairs on her own. In February 2016, she received a SNAP grant totaling $4,935. RiverHills Bank Senior Vice President David Blackledge... Read more
CDBA member Beneficial State Bank seeks a social media and digital content manager to build and manage the foundation's social media profiles and presence in close collaboration with the bank’s marketing team. The content manager is expected to write smart, effective, emotionally compelling content for various media.
On Saturday June 4th more than 20 Pan American Bank employees participated in NeighborWorks Day 2016. Pan American Bank team members joined with the residents of the 900 block of N. Drake Avenue in West Humboldt Park to beautify the neighborhood through rehabbing, home repairs, painting and landscaping projects.
The event is hosted annually by Neighborhood Housing Services, an organization dedicated to its mission of encouraging homeownership, assisting with home improvements and increasing energy-efficiency as well as affordability.
“Through NeighborWorks... Read more
CDBA member City National Bank of New Jersey has several open positions.
Impact and CRA Officer
The impact and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) officer delivers, manages and reports on the bank’s social impact strategy and CRA compliance. This role is responsible for developing and implementing the bank’s impact strategy by managing all aspects of impact tracking and reporting to internal and external constituents including investors.
... Read moreSunrise Banks is sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity house via their #WelcomeHome project. Sunrise is the first Twin Cities company of its size ever to sponsor their own house. Working with donors and sponsors, the bank hopes to raise $75,000 for the house and recruit volunteers to physically build the house. In the past, Sunrise worked on the E-House, a project that allows entrepreneurs and businesses that are too small to sponsor houses individually to participate in a homebuilding project collectively. “Everyone at Sunrise is thrilled to finally get to work on our Habitat... Read more
The Nduom family, a group of Ghanaian-American investors, has invested $9 million into Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan Association, one of the last black-owned banks in Illinois. Brothers Chiefy and Kweku Nduom said the family plans to overhaul the Bronzeville lender, trying to put the bank's close call with failure behind it. Their father, Papa Kwesi Ndoum, is now chairman of the bank. Now that Illinois Service is better capitalized, it plans to focus on its technology, loan portfolio and to reconnecting with its neighborhood. Illinois Service, which remains... Read more
Beneficial State Bank has announced the completion of its merger with Pan American Bank. The combined entity will operate as Beneficial State Bank. Robert Hughes, former CEO of Pan Am, will be a director at Beneficial State and president of a new consumer banking unit upon completion of the merger. “Our goal is to balance organic growth and mission-aligned mergers in order to be resilient under modern bank economics while we serve our communities more deeply," said Beneficial State co-CEO Dan Skaff. “The merger with Pan Am is an important step in... Read more