Recent News
Alongside its announcement of the closure of its South Shore branch, Urban Partnership Bank has announced the launch of a new online and mobile banking platform, "upbAnywhere." The bank will offer free courses in January to train its customers to use the new platform. Urban Partnership also announced plans to refocus on small-business and real estate lending, and to participate next year in a foreclosure-prevention program backed by the Illinois Housing Development Authority. "We believe these are the right strategies... They better align our structure and business focus... Read more
A new service from Carver Bancorp that offers check cashing to non-customers from automated kiosks reflects a shift in the banking industry toward check cashing. The shift comes as payday lending comes under increasing fire from regulators and banks seek alternate sources of fee income. Carver's program brings the kiosks, which resemble ATMs, to the sites of employers on paydays, making it easier for the unbanked to access check cashing. Deborah Wright, Carver's chairwoman and chief executive, hopes to expand the kiosk program, which she forsees broadening the bank's... Read more
Three years after taking over the assets, deposits and mission of failed low-income neighborhood lender ShoreBank, Urban Partnership Bank is selling the converted movie theater in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood that served for decades as home to ShoreBank. The sale means Urban Partnership Bank will no longer have a physical presence in South Shore. Urban Partnership Bank CEO William Farrow commented that the bank continues to hold property in South Shore which he expects to eventually develop into a renewed presence in the neighborhood.
The CDFI Fund has announced its FY 2013 Bank Enterprise Awards, including twenty six (26) awards to CDBA member banks which received a total of $6,849,561 – or 40% of all awards.
In all, eighty-five (85) banks received $17 million in awards. The CDFI Fund reported that they received 98 applications requesting $91 million. The number of applicants in this year's BEA Program round represents an increase of 38 percent over the prior year. It is the largest number of BEA Program applicants since FY 2002. The average award was $200,574 and the maximum award was $323,000. Among the 85... Read more
Albina Community Bank's Lime Wind Project, a wind farm in eastern Oregon funded in partnership with Wells Fargo, has been highlighted in an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) newsletter. Lime Wind is a local distributed-energy project run by a small operator for the benefit of the local community. It provides reliable, green power at rates at or below that of traditional sources. The Lime Wind transaction utilized $8.4 million in new markets tax credits (NMTC) allocation provided by Albina Equity Fund.
Former President Bill Clinton joined leaders of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in welcoming Darrin Williams and Dr. Glendell Jones, Jr. as the new CEO and Governing Board Chair of Southern Bancorp. President Clinton's message, delivered via video from New York, described how Southern is fulfilling the vision he and other founders had when they created the bank in 1986 to help generate long-lasting investments in rural communities. Representatives of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation also congratulated the two for... Read more
Oakland, California based Community Bank of the Bay has appointed a new chairman, Bill Purcell, and a new vice chairman, Gunter Unruh. The bank, led by President and CEO William Keller, also posted a third-quarter profit of $381,000, making this its seventh profitable quarter. "No money, no mission... We have made tremendous progress in the past few years and are now positioned to bring true relationship banking to an even broader market," said Purcell. Purcell says the bank will debut a new website in the months ahead and highlight what differentiates the bank from its... Read more
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents are using new CashAccess bank kiosks, provided by Carver Federal Savings Bank, to cash checks and pay bills. The bank operates four of the machines, which look like ATMs. The kiosks charge fees comparable to those found at a check casher for bill payment services, wire transfers and NYCHA rent payments. “You don't have to get on a bus. You don't have to travel places to pay. It's right here,” said Jacqueline Picket, one of eleven NYCHA residents hired by Carver to help neighbors navigate the kiosks. Bank officials say they... Read more
One PacificCoast Bancorp Inc. has completed its $8.75 million purchase of fellow CDBA member Albina Community Bank's stock. Albina had been under federal and state regulatory order since 2010 to raise more money and address its bad loans. Under the deal, Albina gets the infusion of capital that regulators ordered it to obtain. Though One PacificCoast now owns most of its stock, Albina will continue to operate under its name with separate management, existing staff and its own board of directors.
CDBA Member BankPlus and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas awarded $20,000 in Partnership Grant Program funds to Dress for Success Metro Jackson, which assists underserved, low-wage earning women in obtaining the proper attire and skills to gain employment. The program helps more than 500 women annually. "BankPlus has done an awesome job working with us," said Pat Chambliss, executive director of Dress for Success Metro Jackson. "They've come out and done seminars for the women we serve, teaching them how to manage their money, set up banking accounts and other... Read more
Manhattan-based Carver Federal Savings Bank has parnered with Empire State Development Corp., a New York State economic development agency and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to make it easier for small businesses to bid on construction projects with the MTA. The state’s aim is to increase the availability of funds for the MTA’s high-capital projects through its Small Business Mentoring Program, which provides businesses with mentoring, training, surety bonding services and access to loan capital. The maximum amount of loans Carver Federal Savings Bank will... Read more
CDBA member Carver Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, announced that Lewis Jones III, Kenneth Knuckles and Colvin Grannum have been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors. Lewis Jones III is managing principal and co-founder of 5 Stone Green Capital. Kenneth Knuckles is the president and chief executive officer of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation. Colvin Grannum is president of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. "Carver is pleased to announce the appointment of three exceptional business... Read more
Community Development Bankers Association Press Release
WASHINGTON (September 24, 2013) – Eight CDBA Members received $9.526 million of a total of $12.3 million in awards to CDFI banks in the FY 2013 funding round of the CDFI Program. $172 million in awards were distributed in total by the CDFI Fund. Six of the eight CDBA members were awarded the maximum amount of $1,347,000.
The following CDBA members have received CDFI Core (Financial Assistance) Awards:
... Read moreFrom the Washington Post: "Banks used billions from a small-business lending program to repay government bailout funds, rather than for its intended purpose — making more loans to mom-and-pop operations, according to a watchdog report released Tuesday. The Small Business Lending Fund dished out more than $4 billion to 332 community banks, credit unions, and community development financial institutions to lend to Main Street businesses. By signing up for the lending program, banks could convert their TARP obligations into a lower-interest loan and escape restrictions on executive... Read more
On April 8, 2013 the membership of the Community Development Bankers Association submitted a comment letter to the CDFI Fund in response to the Community Development Financial Institution Fund’s (CDFI Fund) request for public comment on the Interim Final Rule implementing the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program (CBGP). The Interim Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on February 5, 2013. We thank the CDFI Fund for the opportunity to comment and urged the U.S. Department of Treasury to implement the program in a manner that enables the entire, diverse CDFI sector to use the program for... Read more
The Technical Assistance Video Program is a series of educational videos designed to provide useful information to bank directors, officers and employees on areas of supervisory focus and regulatory changes.
New Director Education Series
The first release of videos provides information to new bank directors about their fiduciary role and responsibilities as well an overview of the FDIC’s Risk Management and Compliance Examination processes. These videos are available on the FDIC's YouTube channel.
... Read more
In an article entitled "Small Banks Developing Ways to Compete Against Payday Lenders," the American Banker featured CDBA member One PacificCoast Bank. The article states, "More community banks are preparing to fight payday lenders and technology upstarts for a bigger share of short-term, small-dollar loans. For smaller institutions such One PacificCoast Bank in Oakland, Calif., and National Bank & Trust of Sycamore in Illinois, the battle isn't about booking loans. Rather, the goal is to win back fee income that community banks have ceded to others in recent years."... Read more
On March 19, 2013 the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA) submitted formal comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to the Bureau’s proposed amendments to the Ability to Repay Standards under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z), as published in the Federal Register on January 10, 2013.
In summary, CDBA supports the CFPB's recognition of the important contribution made by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in serving underserved urban and rural markets. We fully appreciate the CFPB for recognizing the regulatory burden... Read more
CDBA member Sunrise Banks announced Monday that it will consolidate its three Twin Cities bank brands—Franklin Bank, Park Midway Bank, and University Bank—under the Sunrise brand, effective April 1. Sunrise has received regulatory clearance for the merger, and the combined bank will have more than $750 million in assets, eight Twin Cities branch locations, and an office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The consolidation comes shortly after Sunrise Chairman Bill Reiling transferred ownership of the business to David Reiling, his son and the company’s CEO.... Read more
The CDFI Fund is pleased to have met a critical milestone in the implementation of the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program: the release of the interim rule in the Federal Register on February 5, 2013. Comments are welcomed and are due on April 8, 2013. To ensure that the industry has complete and accurate information about the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, it posted the PowerPoint presentation used during those information sessions. The presentation can be found on the CDFI Fund’s website. The CDFI Fund hopes the information provided in the presentation will be useful to Qualified Issuer and... Read more