Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase will finally put to rest bills that are still alive on credit reports although legally eliminated in bankruptcy — potentially providing relief to more than a million Americans. The move is a victory for borrowers whose credit reports have been marred as a result of the reported debts, imperiling their job prospects and torpedoing their chances of getting new loans. The change by the banks emerged this week in Federal Bankruptcy Court, where the two banks, along with Citigroup and Synchrony Financial, face lawsuits accusing them of deliberately ignoring... Read more

Registration is open for the CDFI Fund's Expanding CDFI Coverage in Underserved Areas Capacity Building Initiative workshops. This series of two-day workshops will provide specialized training and technical assistance to certified and emerging CDFIs seeking to expand their reach into underserved communities. Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) will partner with subject matter experts including CDBA to provide three workshops relevant to all types of CDFIs. The first session,... Read more

More than 26 million consumers are effectively "credit invisible" because they have no credit record and another 19 million are "unscored" because they have an insufficient or stale credit history, according to a CFPB report. The study found that in low-income neighborhoods, almost 30% of consumers were credit invisible while another 15% had records that can't be scored. Those percentages drop to 4% and 5%, respectively, in higher-income neighborhoods. The study also found that black and Hispanic... Read more

Spring Bank Vice President Brian Blake has been named a Community Bank Hero by The Warren Group and Banking New York magazine. The annual Community Bank Hero award recognizes the leaders and visionaries of the New York Banking industry. Accepting the award, Blake stated that the award reflected the hard work of the entire Spring Bank team. “There should really be 35 names on this award,” Blake said. “In just 7 years, Spring Bank has accomplished so much in pursuit of its mission to serve New... Read more

A new app could help hourly workers that experience significant income swings -- nearly a third of American households. The app, Even, smooths the irregular, up-­and-­down paychecks of hourly workers into the steady flow of a simulated salary. On good weeks, when users outearn their “average” salary, the company banks the surplus into a separate savings account. When users fall short, they still get their salary, thanks to past surpluses or to interest-free credit from Even. The service charges an annual fee of $156 – which could be preferable to the billions America’s poor spend each year... Read more

An SBA loan from Durango, Colorado-based First Southwest Bank has helped Colorado Malting Company expand its operation to become the largest craft malt house in the United States. Founders Jason and Wayne Cody say the bank’s work was instrumental in their business’s success. "The first day we were open for business, running a tank that would hold about 400 gallons of wheat, we got an order for 40,000 pounds of malt. So we just kind of went, 'We're going to need some financing help!'” said Jason Cody. “[First SouthWest Bank] has worked tremendously hard and went to bat for... Read more

A new report from National Community Investment Fund (NCIF) finds that CDFI banks are substantially more likely than mainstream institutions to provide financial services in underserved areas. The report finds that 53.6 percent of the median CDFI bank’s HMDA loans were made to low income districts, compared to 25.5 percent for the median U.S. bank. In addition, the median CDFI bank had a greater proportion of branches in low income communities — 75 percent, compared to 40 percent for the median U.S. institution. NCIF also surveyed a sample of 24 CDFI banks for more detailed information,... Read more

Beneficial State Bank, Sunrise Banks and Virginia Community Capital were recognized by B Lab's Best for the World 2015 List in both the Overall and Best for Communities categories. The list honors companies that create the most positive impact for their environment, their communities and their employees. Virginia Community Capital was commended for its commitment to local, sustainable and fair trade suppliers. Beneficial State Bank was noted for its dedication to environmental sustainability and for giving more than 50% of its corporate profits to charity. Sunrise Banks... Read more

The New York Times this week featured a debate on the role of social goals in the profit-oriented corporate environment. David Yosifon of the Santa Clara University School of Law writes that Delaware corporate law holds that directors must make stockholder welfare their sole end, a premise which Lynn Stout of Cornell Law rebuts. She writes that the malleability of “shareholder interest” affords directors ample leeway for incorporating social goals. Stephen Bainbridge of the U.C.L.A. School of Law writes that enforcing shareholder wealth maximization is the only concrete... Read more