Recent News
Over a weeklong stretch last month, all six institutions offering bank payday loans discontinued the product due to pressure from federal banking regulators. The coming months will test how hard those banks are willing to fight for low income borrowers. Whatever banks offer will likely be less profitable than deposit advance. Possible replacement products like secured credit cards may fill some of the void, but many customers who used deposit advances won't qualify for secured loans. Some banks are partnering with nonbanks that already have expertise in small-dollar lending, such as LendUp... Read more
Green economy organization Green America has given One PacificCoast Bank, Albina Community Bank and Southern Bancorp A+ grades for their commitment to sustainability and clean energy. Green America praised these banks for avoiding financing coal power plants and mining operations. The organization noted that One PacificCoast, Albina and Southern all have demonstrated investment in sectors that invest in communities and promote sustainability. Green America released the rankings as part of their Take Charge of Your Card campaign, which promotes banks that... Read more
Lisa Sevron, a professor at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at the New School, describes the experiences of payday borrower Azlinah Tambu, a twenty-two-year-old single mother: Ms. Tambu's car had broken down, and she needed it to drop her daughter off at day care and get to work. Tambu had no savings or credit card; no family or friends who could help. So she took out five payday loans from five different lenders knowing she would not be able to pay them back on time. When the lenders tried to withdraw the money she owed from her checking account,... Read more
Shoddy paperwork, erroneous fees and wrongful evictions are cropping up among the servicers that collect mortgage payments. Servicing companies like Nationstar and Ocwen Financial now have 17 percent of the mortgage servicing market, up from 3 percent in 2010. The servicing companies are unfettered by many regulations which apply to banks. Because of those regulations, banks are eager to hand off some of their more challenging loans. Federal and state regulators worry that the rapid growth could create new setbacks like stalled modifications for millions of Americans. Analysts say the... Read more
Costs associated with the Target security breach have topped $200 million for financial institutions, according to data collected by the Consumer Bankers Association and the Credit Union National Association. The tally by the industry trade groups is the most comprehensive so far in identifying the breach's impact on banks and others. With the credit card data of an estimated 40 million shoppers exposed in the attack, banks have gone on a massive spree of new-card issuance: more than 17 million new credit cards have been sent out to customers. Replacing credit cards costs an average of $10... Read more
Brian Argrett, President and CEO of City First Bank of DC, has been named a recipient of the Washington Business Journal’s 2014 Minority Business Leader Award. The award recognizes the top 25 minority business leaders in the Washington, D.C. area, honoring their entrepreneurial drive, creativity and success. Mr. Argrett, also CDBA Vice-Chair, was recognized for bringing financial services to the underserved and for his expertise growing companies in under-resourced and minority communities. Under his leadership, City First Bank has grown to over $200 million in assets and... Read more
On March 7, 2014, at 1:00 PM EST Promontory Financial Group will host a conference call to answer frequently asked questions about the Promontory Empowerment Awards. Topics covered in the call will include award eligibility, application requirements, selection criteria and prizes. All interested in attending are advised to RSVP to empowerment@promontory.com for dial-in information and to submit questions for consideration during the call. Questions should be submitted by 5:00 PM EST on March 5. Promontory established the... Read more
Virginia Community Capital President/CEO and CDBA Chairwoman Jane Henderson has been named one of three new board members by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship works in partnership with communities in the United States and Canada to provide customized research-based, asset-focused economic development strategies that emphasize entrepreneurship. Current board chair Thomas S. Lyons said of the transition, “We are excited about the addition of these three members who bring deep experience with... Read more
OneUnited Bank has introduced a new credit card aimed at consumers who are trying to repair bad credit. The credit card, billed as the “comeback card” will initially be marketed in the bank’s three primary locations -- Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami -- said Teri Williams, the bank’s president. As customers establish a history of on-time payments, they can rebuild their credit, allowing them to qualify for traditional cards and other loans. “These are people who have hit a bump in the road,” Williams said. “We can relate, whether personally or as an institution, when you... Read more
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