Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP)
Established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) was created to encourage low- and moderate-income community financial institutions to augment their efforts to support small businesses and consumers in their communities. Under the program, Treasury is providing up to $9 billion in capital directly to depository institutions that are certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) or minority depository institutions (MDIs). Among other things, these funds are designed to support low- and moderate-income community financial institutions in providing loans, grants, and forbearance for small businesses, minority-owned businesses, and consumers, especially in low-income and underserved communities, that may be disproportionately impacted by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through a rate reduction mechanism, ECIP incentivizes participating depository institutions to increase their lending and other investments in low- and moderate-income, rural and minority communities.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
10/25/2023: The Department of the Treasury reports that ECIP participants originated a total of approximately $26 billion in loans in a little more than six months in 2022. Approximately 75%, or $19.4 billion, went to LMI borrowers, borrowers in rural communities, and other categories of Qualified Lending. Approximately one third of the total originations, or $8.6 billion, were Deep Impact loans (a subset of Qualified Lending) made to the hardest-to-serve borrowers, including those that are low-income, residents on Tribal lands and in US Territories, and owners of very small businesses. See here for the full report.
10/05/2023 (updated): The Department of the Treasury updated its announcement from September 21, 2022 to reflect it has made over $8.57 billion of investments in 175 community financial institutions across the country through the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP). These funds will support the efforts of community financial institutions to provide loans, grants, and other assistance to small and minority-owned businesses and consumers, especially in low-income and financially underserved communities that struggled during the COVID-19 crisis. Read the September 21, 2022 press release here.