Community Development Banking News
CDFI Banking: Industry, Policy, and Beyond.
Yesterday, the CDFI Fund released the FY2021 Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) award announcement, awarding over $336 million to 32 CDFIs and 27 Nonprofit Housing Organizations. This year: Three CDFI banks or bank holding companies and one CDFI bank affiliate received awards: Beneficial State Bancorp, Inc.; Central Bank of Kansas City; City First Enterprises, Inc.; and Legacy Bank & Trust Company; of the three CDFI banks or bank holding companies and one CDFI bank affiliate, all were either CDBA members or affiliated with a CDBA member; collectively, these banks increased their awards by $4.9 million over their previous award amounts; a total of 146 organizations applied for the FY2021 round requesting more than $991 million in CMF awards. Of those applicants, three were banks or thrifts and two were depository institution holding companies.
A new bill in Congress proposes a tax credit to subsidize long-term investments in financial institutions that have a primary mission to serve low- and moderate-income communities. The bipartisan Community Development Financial Institutions Tax Credit Act was introduced by U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia along with Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. The legislators say the tax credit would "promote lasting economic prosperity in Black, brown and low-income communities." The proposed tax credit would subsidize equity investments into the 1,400 financial institutions that the U.S. Treasury Department has certified as Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs. To be certified, CDFIs must report that at least 60% of their annual lending and other business is in low- and moderate-income areas or with low- or moderate income borrowers.
The Harbor Bank of Maryland had a grand opening of their Northwood Branch this week. They took it as a perfect opportunity to celebrate Juneteenth. It's opening up in Northwood Commons Shopping Center, which played an important role during the Civil Rights movement. 400 students from Morgan State University protested the center's segregation and wound up in jail. Now it's been transformed to reflect the spirit of those 400 students and the work they did to fight for their rights.
Senator Mark Warner, Senate Colleagues and Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA) Steward Historic Bi-Partisan Legislation
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) was joined by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) in introducing bipartisan legislation to promote lasting economic prosperity in Black, brown and low-income communities. This bill would help unlock more equity and long-term financial capital for community development financial institutions (CDFIs). CDFIs serve as a backbone for low-income or minority-owned businesses, which tend to have fewer banking relationships and less access to traditional forms of funding.
This bill will help direct support to lenders that focus on underserved communities. It creates a CDFI Investment Tax Credit that will attract private sector investors that make equity, equity-equivalent investments, or long-term patient capital available to CDFIs. The bill will benefit CDFIs of all types including banks, credit unions, venture capital funds, and loan funds, while providing institutions with the maximum flexibility and financial support they need to increase wealth in low- and moderate-income communities. Currently, there are 1,400 CDFIs nationwide.
“As the national trade association for community development banks, CDBA is proud to have led the advocacy efforts for the new CDFI Tax Credit Investment Act. In addition to another recent victory for the communities served by CDFI banks – the U.S. Treasury’s $9 Billion Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) – this tax credit will strengthen CDFIs serving at the grassroots, supporting the most vulnerable and disinvested communities in the U.S. and creating new economic opportunities. This tool will be a game changer by attracting private capital to Main Street where it’s needed most.'' said Jeannine Jacokes, Chief Executive Officer, Community Development Bankers Association.
To combat the hemorrhaging of jobs and economic opportunities during the pandemic, Sen. Warner has been a leader in Congress for CDFIs and MDIs. In July of 2020, he teamed up with a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Jobs and Neighborhood Investment Act – an effort that secured endorsements from a host of other advocacy organizations and civil rights groups. Together, Sen. Warner and U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters were later able to secure provisions from the bill in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, which was signed into law on December 27, 2020, providing an unprecedented $12 billion in...
Last week, the House Appropriations released a draft of FSGG appropriations bill for FY 23. The FSGG Appropriations Subcommittee was scheduled to mark-up the bill June 16. Full Committee consideration is scheduled for tomorrow, June 24, with floor consideration soon thereafter. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet released a mark-up schedule. The bill appropriations $336.4 million for the CDFI Fund. The amount is $41 million higher than Fiscal Year 2022 and approximately $5 million above the budget request. The bill also authorized $500 million for the CDFI Bond Guarantee. As is past years, the bill directs the Fund to prioritize Financial Assistance awards to organizations lending and investing in high poverty areas – census tracts with poverty rates of at least 20 percent over the period of 2016-2020. The bill also continues to waive matching requirements for the NACA program.
CNote, an Oakland-based fintech, announced that Apple will use the CNote platform to deploy $25 million into underserved communities across the country. Apple's $25 million commitment is part of its broader Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, an effort to address systemic racism in America and expand opportunities for communities of color. The new funding builds on Apple's previously announced commitments to expand economic empowerment and support entrepreneurs of color. CNote has deployed an initial round of Apple deposits to mission-driven financial institutions, including ANECA Federal Credit Union in Louisiana; Bank of Cherokee County in Oklahoma; Carver State Bank in Georgia; Education Credit Union in Texas; First Southwest Bank in Colorado; Hope Credit Union, which serves Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee; Kaua'i Federal Credit Union in Hawai'i; Latino Community Credit Union in North Carolina; Legacy Bank in Missouri; Optus Bank in South Carolina; Self-Help Federal Credit Union, with locations in California, Illinois, Washington and Wisconsin; and VCC Bank in Virginia.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced seven new members of the agency's Advisory Committee on Community Banking:
- Troy Campbell, President & CEO, Altoona First Savings Bank, Altoona, Pennsylvania
- Robert James II, Executive Vice President, Carver State Bank, Savannah, Georgia
- Trey Maust, Executive Chairman, Lewis & Clark Bank, Oregon City, Oregon
- Dominik Mjartan, President & CEO, Optus Bank, Columbia, South Carolina
- Arlen Osterbuhr, Chairman & CEO, Minden Exchange Bank and Trust Company, Minden, Nebraska
- Shane Pilarski, President & CEO, Alliance Bank, Francesville, Indiana
- Kim Reigelsberger, President, Preferred Bank, Rothville, Missouri
Composed of a cross-section of community bankers from around the country, the FDIC's Advisory Committee shares input on a broad range of community bank policy and regulatory matters. On May 3, 2022, the Advisory Committee will meet to discuss local banking conditions. FDIC senior staff will also provide updates on supervision and policy matters and the FDIC's Small Business Lending Survey.
Anguilla banker Kit McCoy has been elected to the Executive Council of the Mississippi Young Bankers, a section of the Mississippi Bankers Association. McCoy serves as compliance officer and senior mortgage lender for Bank of Anguilla. McCoy started in banking as a part-time teller 22 years ago while she was a college freshman. She earned her BSE from Delta State University, and she is a graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking at the University of Mississippi and the Graduate School of Banking Louisiana State University. McCoy also earned the designation as a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager in 2020.
Interested in applying to the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding round for the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program (CDFI ERP)? The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) is tentatively planning to open the fiscal year (FY) 2022 CDFI ERP application round later this spring. Now is a great time for organizations to begin to prepare to apply for a CDFI ERP award. Enacted in December 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260) provided $1.75 billion to the CDFI Fund to provide grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to respond to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.