News
"On September 19th, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance about certain legal requirements that lenders must adhere to when using artificial intelligence and other complex models. The guidance describes how lenders must use specific and accurate reasons when taking adverse actions against consumers. This means that creditors cannot simply use CFPB sample adverse action forms and checklists if they do not reflect the actual reason for the denial of credit or a change of credit conditions. This requirement is especially important with the growth of advanced algorithms and personal consumer data in credit underwriting. Explaining the reasons for adverse actions help improve consumers' chances for future credit, and protect consumers from illegal discrimination."
"In January 2022, Kenya Davenport accepted a position with Southern Bancorp to become its new chief of staff and work alongside a CEO, Darrin Williams, who had become a prominent mentor in her life, and create a platform for equality within the financial landscape.
'We've just been vigorously working every day to put our stamp on finally resolving the racial wealth gap,' Davenport said. 'That's our task every day, and we are fighting to make it a more level playing field for everyone in financial services and the financial industry.'"
"Thanks to an SBA loan through CDBA member Ponce Bank, Daniel Garcia, owner of the Caribbean food service company Salsa Caterers and Special Events, acquired an industrial building in the Bronx to expand his business after growing during the pandemic. Part of what made this acquisition successful was the shared sense of community between Ponce Bank and Salsa Caterers. 'I've met the president of the bank,' Garcia says. 'I can call a person who cares, who's from the community, who knew my history, knew my character, and advocated for us. You can't buy that.'"
"Congress is facing a perilous return from August recess with just weeks to pass a stopgap spending bill and serious differences between the Senate and House on overall fiscal 2024 spending levels and priorities. The fiscal year wraps up on Sept. 30, and Congress traditionally passes a short-term continuing resolution so it has more time to work on a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on the 12 annual spending bills.
The Senate has been writing its fiscal 2024 appropriations bills to the levels laid out in the debt limit law (PL 118-5) negotiated by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., earlier this summer, though with some extra emergency funds on top. The House, however, wrote its bills below the nondefense cap set by the debt deal, setting the stage for challenging endgame appropriations negotiations."
"Even though more students feel priced out of college entirely, there are efforts to improve access to higher education that seem to be working. In 2011, San Francisco made headlines when it became the first city in the nation to kick off a college savings account with $50 for every child entering kindergarten in the public school system. Now those students are about to enter college."
In an op-ed for the New York Daily News, LISC president Denise Scott and Citi Foundation's Brandee McHale describe how efforts like LISC's HBCU internship program enrich the work of community investment while nurturing a new generation of diverse community development professionals.
"My hope is for this book to help the people in those and future examples to feel connected and properly informed about what's at stake and why efforts like these are so important to the future of our cities, this country, and the planet. Look out for it in your local bookstore (tentatively) in Fall 2024."
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is probing The Change Company, a California lender that pledges to promote homeownership in underserved communities, over its mortgage-backed securities, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Judge Randy Crane of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas placed an injunction Monday barring the CFPB from requiring Rio Bank of McAllen, Texas, and members of the Texas Bankers Association and American Bankers Association (ABA) to comply with the small business lending rule until the US Supreme Court rules on the CFPB's funding.
Regions Bank recently hosted the second annual CDFI Convening, attended by 25 CEOs and executives from Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) across the bank's footprint.
As he welcomed the group to Birmingham, Regions Head of Community Affairs Leroy Abrahams talked about the role these institutions serve in improving the financial health of our communities and why it's crucial for Regions to maintain close relationships with them.