Community Development Banking News
CDFI Banking: Industry, Policy, and Beyond.
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."
The article continues to describe One PacificCoast's innovation, stating "One PacificCoast also has an alternative to paycheck advances. The $282 million-asset bank offers a service to employers that lets workers take out small-dollar loans."
Read the full coverage of these alternatives to payday loan products below.
Member News
Final Date Set for Charles Street Bankruptcy Hearing
Bay State Banner
(3-22-13)
After a year of startling disclosures by Charles Street AME church officials, including an estimated $400,000 in misappropriated funds designated for a church pastoral program, U.S. bankruptcy Judge Frank Bailey set a final hearing date in the increasingly bitter trial pitting the historic church against OneUnited Bank. The April 12 confirmation hearing will determine whether the court will accept the church’s plan to repay nearly $5.2 million in loans to the nation’s largest black-owned bank as well as additional funds to outstanding creditors. Charles Street attorneys have argued that once the bankruptcy hearings are completed, the church can then finish building its Roxbury Renaissance Center and start generating money by holding wedding receptions and community meetings to repay its debts over a 30-year period. OneUnited attorneys have opposed such repayment plans in large part because of what they have discovered are significant problems with the church’s financial statements that are being used to determine the repayment plan.
Bank2 CEO and President Ross Hill to Give OBU's Minter Lecture
News-Star
(3-20-13)
Ross A. Hill, Founder and CEO of Bank2, will present Oklahoma Baptist University’s 2013 Minter Lectureship in Business, Leadership, and Christian Ministry on Monday, April 8, at 10 a.m. in Bailey Business Center’s Tulsa Royalties Auditorium. The community is invited to attend. The title of Hill’s lecture will be “Leadership Essentials for the 21st Century.” In the 10 years since he founded Bank2, Hill and his team have helped thousands of people and firmly established the institution as a national star in the banking industry. In 2009 and 2010 the American Banking Journal ranked Bank2 as the first and third community bank in the nation, respectively, as measured by the banking industry’s gold standard of return on equity. The Minter Lectureship in American Business Practice is intended to add a sound understanding of the business world to the educational experience of church ministry majors to broaden their ability to minister effectively. The Minter Lectureship was underwritten by 1940 OBU graduate Lloyd G. Minter of Bartlesville. The annual series began in 1991.
Member News
Agreement with Highland Community Bank Paves Way for Launch of Generations Community Bank
Generations Community Bank
(3-20-13)
Generations Community Bancorp, Inc. has reached a definitive agreement with Highland Community Company for the acquisition of its subsidiary, Highland Community Bank. This transaction will enable Generations Community Bancorp to complete its goal of opening a minority-led and locally managed community bank, under the name of Generations Community Bank, in the Chicago South Side locations where Highland Community Bank operates today. Generations Community Bank expects to be certified as both a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a Minority Depository Institution (MDI). "The acquisition of Highland provides an entree for Generations Community Bank to expand access to credit and other financial services to businesses and individuals across the South Side. Many of these communities have been hit hardest by the recession and tightening of credit," said Matthew Roth, proposed president and CEO of Generations Community Bank. "Highland Community Bank has been a positive presence in the community for four decades and we intend to build upon that tradition, creating a seamless transition for Highland's loyal current customers as we seek to increase the flow of capital to both the commercial and consumer sectors in Auburn-Gresham and the broader South Side community."
CDBA Members Mentioned in NerdWallet's PayDay Alternatives Feature
NerdWallet
(3-18-13)
The article states that "through payday loan alternatives, credit-building loans or other short-term loan options,...
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 that could be imposed upon mission‐focused lenders. We urge the CFPB to proceed with the proposed exemption for CDFIs and other proposed exempted organizations from the Ability to Repay Standards under the Truth in Lending Act. CDBA believes the CFPB's proposed exemptions are a reasonable approach, which balance the protection of consumers with the need for an appropriate level of regulation of the mortgage market. While most CDFI banks are already exempt from the Ability to Repay Standards under other small or rural bank exemptions, not all meet the qualifications for these exemptions. All CDFIs are focused on serving the toughest most credit starved communities and should be exempt from the Ability to Repay Standards under the Truth in Lending Act. We urge the CFPB to be inclusive of all CDFIs under this exemption.
We do, however, urge the agency to address some drafting discrepancies that create confusion about how the CDFI exemption is to be applied. Specifically, the rule contains inconsistencies as to which CDFIs are covered by the proposed § 1026.43(a)(3)(v) exemption. On balance, it appears that the intent of the exemption is to apply to all organizations that are certified CDFIs. Yet, the language in some parts of the proposed rule are inclusive of all CDFIs, while others only reference a narrower group of “nonprofit” CDFIs or “nonprofit creditors.” To date, there are nearly 1,000 organizations that have been certified by the U.S. Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. While the large majority of those entities are nonprofit organizations, a significant number are for‐profit banks and for‐profit loan funds.
Read the full comment letter for the specific recommendations proposed by the Community Development Bankers Association.
March 14, 2013
Member News
Twin Cities Business
(3-12-13)
Three locally-owned Twin Cities banks will be rebranded as one, allowing their parent company to expand offerings both here and nationally. St. Paul-based bank-holding company 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. David Reiling, who has served as CEO of Sunrise since 2004, told Twin Cities Business that the ownership succession and bank consolidation plans had been a long time in the making, and the fact that they occurred around the same time was mostly coincidental. Apart from the new name, Sunrise’s local branches will see little change. But the consolidation is meant to allow Sunrise to increase its focus on national products, which will in turn generate capital and allow it to invest further in the Twin Cities, where it may eventually acquire additional banks, Reiling said. The consolidation will also help Sunrise focus on its mission of social responsibility, according to Reiling. Sunrise focuses on what he describes as “under-banked” customers and primarily serves urban communities. Increasing revenue through national products will allow it to reinvest in its Twin Cities operation and the community, he said.
Milwaukee Courier
(3-9-13)
The national law firm of Quarles...
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.
David Reiling, who has served as CEO of Sunrise since 2004, told Twin Cities Business that the ownership succession and bank consolidation plans had been a long time in the making, and the fact that they occurred around the same time was mostly coincidental. Apart from the new name, Sunrise’s local branches will see little change. But the consolidation is meant to allow Sunrise to increase its focus on national products, which will in turn generate capital and allow it to invest further in the Twin Cities, where it may eventually acquire additional banks, Reiling said. The consolidation will also help Sunrise focus on its mission of social responsibility, according to Reiling. Sunrise focuses on what he describes as “under-banked” customers and primarily serves urban communities. Increasing revenue through national products will allow it to reinvest in its Twin Cities operation and the community, he said.
Twin Cities Business has the full story.
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 Guarantee Applicants once the program is fully implemented.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency manages a directory of minority-owned financial institutions, including women-owned banks, as well as resources for learning more about these institutions that are often more sensitive to the specialized needs of the communities they serve. In fact, one of the OCC’s recommended resources is MinorityBank.com, which published a listing by Creative Investment Research, Inc. of the top five women- and minority-owned financial institutions, naming the Central Bank of Kansas City as the best bank for women. According to MinorityBank.com, the top five listing was compiled “using 2009 financial, demographic, HMDA and CRA information from a database maintained by Creative Investment Research.” The list was ultimately based on “social needs in the area the financial institution serves; responsiveness of the financial institution in meeting those social needs; and financial performance of the institution.”
March 7, 2013
Member News
Boston Globe
(2-28-13)
The Suffolk County Alumni Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity is hosting its Annual Tribute to Black Women & Sapphire Awards Ceremony honoring three women dedicated to uplifting others in their communities. The fraternity will present Sapphire Awards to Dr. Nteri Nelson, an adjunct professor at UMass Boston; Teri Williams, president of OneUnited Bank; and Cindy Diggs, founder of Peace Boston. Phi Beta Sigma was founded at Howard University in 1914 by three African-American male students and now consists of over 200,000 members with 700 chapters in the US, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. Its Sapphire Award is the chapter’s highest honor given to non-members in the areas of education, business, and social action.
Charles Street AME Cash Transfers Subject of Bank Hearing
Bay State Banner
(2-28-13)
Two years ago, the Lilly Foundation awarded Charles Street AME a four-year grant of $875,000 to train young pastors. Its pastor in residency program was expected to be the sole beneficiary of the Lilly grant. It wasn’t, according to both Rev. Groover, Pastor of Charles Street AME, and Rev. Opal Adams, the woman who kept the financial books and authored Groover’s annual reports. The recent depositions of Groover and Adams came to light this week in a hearing before U.S. bankruptcy Judge Frank Bailey to determine if the church’s latest amended financial statements should be used as a basis to repay its debts, including $5.2 million in outstanding debt to OneUnited Bank, the church’s main creditor and the nation’s largest black-owned bank. Characterizing the recent church financial statements as “inadequate and incomprehensible,” bank attorneys said they demonstrate “a false portrayal of its financial circumstances and purposefully overlooks its obligations.” “In light of the debtor’s duplicity, and given the true state of the debtor’s financial affairs — that is so far as discovery has uncovered it — there is plainly no credible prospect that it can present...
February 28, 2013
Member News
Boston Globe
(2-25-13)
(2-25-13)