Yesterday, the CDFI Fund released the FY2021 Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) award announcement, awarding over $336 million to 32 CDFIs and 27 Nonprofit Housing Organizations. This year: Three CDFI banks or bank holding companies and one CDFI bank affiliate received awards: Beneficial State Bancorp, Inc.; Central Bank of Kansas City; City First Enterprises, Inc.; and Legacy Bank & Trust Company; of the three CDFI banks or bank holding companies and one CDFI bank affiliate, all were either CDBA members or affiliated with a CDBA member; collectively, these banks increased their awards by $4.9... Read more

The Harbor Bank of Maryland had a grand opening of their Northwood Branch this week. They took it as a perfect opportunity to celebrate Juneteenth. It's opening up in Northwood Commons Shopping Center, which played an important role during the Civil Rights movement. 400 students from Morgan State University protested the center's segregation and wound up in jail. Now it's been transformed to reflect the spirit of those 400 students and the work they did to fight for their rights.

Last week, the House Appropriations released a draft of FSGG appropriations bill for FY 23. The FSGG Appropriations Subcommittee was scheduled to mark-up the bill June 16. Full Committee consideration is scheduled for tomorrow, June 24, with floor consideration soon thereafter. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet released a mark-up schedule. The bill appropriations $336.4 million for the CDFI Fund. The amount is $41 million higher than Fiscal Year 2022 and approximately $5 million above the budget request. The bill also authorized $500 million for the CDFI Bond Guarantee. As is... Read more

CNote, an Oakland-based fintech, announced that Apple will use the CNote platform to deploy $25 million into underserved communities across the country. Apple's $25 million commitment is part of its broader Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, an effort to address systemic racism in America and expand opportunities for communities of color. The new funding builds on Apple's previously announced commitments to expand economic empowerment and support entrepreneurs of color. CNote has deployed an initial round of Apple deposits to mission-driven financial institutions, including ANECA... Read more

Anguilla banker Kit McCoy has been elected to the Executive Council of the Mississippi Young Bankers, a section of the Mississippi Bankers Association. McCoy serves as compliance officer and senior mortgage lender for Bank of Anguilla. McCoy started in banking as a part-time teller 22 years ago while she was a college freshman. She earned her BSE from Delta State University, and she is a graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking at the University of Mississippi and the Graduate School of Banking Louisiana State University. McCoy also earned the designation as a Certified Regulatory... Read more

"The SBA's Equity Action Plan reaffirms our agency-wide commitment to breaking down longstanding barriers to ensure underserved entrepreneurs can access the capital, networks, resources, and opportunity they need to realize their American dream of business ownership," said Administrator Guzman. "Alongside plans from over 90 other federal agencies, the SBA's Equity Action Plan aims to level the playing field for all small businesses and startups, a priority of the Biden-Harris Administration, and empower them to compete in an increasingly global economy and navigate new opportunities... Read more

On Monday, Quontic Bank began offering customers an unassuming black band embedded with contactless payment technology that they can use at point-of-sale terminals. Such devices exist in other countries. Visa introduced near field communication-enabled rings for Olympic athletes in 2016; the London-based Kerv emerged in 2017 from a Kickstarter campaign; a bank in Australia rolled out the Halo ring in 2018. Some ring-makers advertise availability in the U.S. But Quontic, a $916 million-asset community development financial institution in New York City, says it is the first financial... Read more

In celebration of National Financial Literacy Month, OneUnited Bank, the nation's largest black-owned bank, is proud to announce its 12th Annual "I Got Bank!" National Financial Literacy Contest where ten children will win a $1,000 savings account. To make financial literacy a core value of the Black community, the Bank is offering a free "I Got Bank" E-Book. Students from across the country between the ages of 8 and 12 are encouraged to read a financial literacy book of their choosing, and either write a 250-word essay or create an art project to show how they would apply what they... Read more

Bank regulators are sharpening their tools for identifying and curbing discriminatory practices in the home appraisal industry. The Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Credit Union Administration plan to devise new ways to monitor appraisal processes for racial, ethnic and sex-based biases, according to a report published this week by a White House task force aimed at addressing long-running prejudices in appraisals. The agencies will also scrutinize mortgage... Read more