Community Development Banking News
CDFI Banking: Industry, Policy, and Beyond.
Misperceptions of risk among many lenders make Black-owned small businesses twice as likely to get rejected for bank loans as white-owned small businesses. A new fund raised by the Expanding Black Business Credit Network aims to shift the narrative. The Black-led consortium of community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, has raised $29 million for the Black Vision Fund to increase the amount of capital available for lending by its members. The goal: reduce the racial wealth gap. The loans will be underwritten by community lenders including Jackson, Miss.-based Hope Credit Union, the National Community Investment Fund in Chicago, Texas Mezzanine Fund, Minneapolis-based Metropolitan Economic Development Association, City First Broadway Bank in D.C. and Los Angeles, Community First Fund in Philadelphia, and Florida-based Black Business Investment Fund.
Andy Anderson has been with the Bank of Anguilla since 1983. He is now the CEO and President of the very bank that foreclosed on the house in which he and his mother lived when he was a child after his parents divorced. This is but one fascinating story found throughout Anderson's career and also one that demonstrates how far the bank has come and speaks to its' mission and purpose today. "We try to lend to people that other banks might not even talk to, primarily because of where we live and the fact that we know everyone in the area. Certainly you have to say ‘No’ sometimes, but we go out of our way to try and find a way to help any customer that comes through our doors who truly want to help themselves.”
Days ago, the Detroit-based First Independent Bank (FIB) opened for business at the former Wells Fargo bank branch located at 3430 University Avenue S.E. The bank's chairman and CEO, Kenneth Kelly, noted in a press release that the University Avenue branch is "located in the community where it is visible and accessible to all in the Twin Cities... We look at the fact that it is close to the Metro Green Line and bus routes so that under-resourced and unbanked members of the community can easily reach us and use our services to improve their financial outlook." FIB, one of the 17 Black-owned full-service banks in the country, has received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to set up shop in the Twin Cities. The current expansion into the Minnesota market is the result of collaborative action on capital enhancement, marketing, and research with Bank of America, Bremer Bank, Huntington Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.
Federal banking regulators are expected to issue a long-awaited proposal for modernizing requirements under the Community Reinvestment Act as early as this month, officials said Monday. The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plan to issue a joint revamp of the anti-redlining law after years of interagency tension over the issue during the Trump administration. Last year, acting Comptroller Michal Hsu rescinded a breakaway rule change made in 2020 under former Comptroller Joseph Otting that had for the first time created a different interpretation among the regulators of how banks must comply. Since then, the three agencies have been working together on how to move forward with a unified modernization of the 1970s-era law. The agencies are eyeing issuing a formal proposal in March, said Mark Pearce, director of FDIC’s division of depositor and consumer protection, at a Monday event hosted by the Consumer Bankers Association.
Low-income, less-educated, and minority households are less likely to have bank accounts—which are essential for households' financial well-being. People have cited high fees, minimum balance requirements, and other reasons why they don't have bank accounts. Federal agencies have worked to increase banking access. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation piloted a public awareness campaign on the benefits of bank accounts. Are these agencies' efforts working? Many of the agencies don't know—so we recommended developing performance measures for these efforts to help determine how effective they are.
Low-income, less-educated, and minority households are less likely to have bank accounts—which are essential for households' financial well-being. People have cited high fees, minimum balance requirements, and other reasons why they don't have bank accounts. Federal agencies have worked to increase banking access. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation piloted a public awareness campaign on the benefits of bank accounts. Are these agencies' efforts working? Many of the agencies don't know—so we recommended developing performance measures for these efforts to help determine how effective they are.
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury launched a historic demographic information collection effort to measure equity outcomes for small businesses supported by the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program. The information collected by Treasury will support the program's commitment to expanding access to capital for businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SEDI businesses). The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included $10 billion for SSBCI to provide to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments for programs that help small businesses access capital, including $2.5 billion in allocations to support SEDI businesses. SSBCI will provide recipient jurisdictions funding for a range of programs that will increase access to credit for small businesses, including through lending and equity capital investments, to help businesses grow in the years ahead. Treasury's implementation of the SSBCI program is designed to expand access to capital, promote economic resiliency, and create new jobs and economic opportunity.
Savannah's Carver State Bank celebrated a huge milestone this weekend - its 95th anniversary! To mark the special occasion, they showed a documentary called Financial Freedom for All: Robert James and Carver State Bank. The film honors and recognizes the bank's President and CEO, Robert James, who began his career at the bank in 1971. 50 years later, he is the longest tenured Black bank president in the country. "We are proud of the fact that we have survived through all of the difficulties that financial institutions have had over the years. All the changes and the technologies and markets but Carver has managed to survive. And I think that we survived because we've had consistency of leadership and consistency of purpose," James said.
OneUnited Bank, the largest Black owned bank, announces the opening of its new state of the art branch in Compton, California on February 28, 2022. The Bank is excited to honor its roots and renew its long-term commitment to the City of Compton. OneUnited Bank was forced to close its Compton branch in March 2020 after its landlord refused to renew its long-term lease to open a national chain sneaker store. Like many Black owned businesses that are displaced due to gentrification, the Bank was forced to either permanently close or relocate. Although the Bank considered permanently closing as more customers move to digital banking, its commitment to its Compton customers and the Compton community resulted in the decision to relocate. The new branch, located at 1495 N. Wilmington Avenue, Compton CA 90022, is less than 2 miles from the previous branch location.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (hereafter, the agencies) are issuing an interagency statement to remind creditors of the ability under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B to establish special purpose credit programs to meet the credit needs of specified classes of persons. Many financial institutions have publicly committed billions of dollars to better meet the needs of underserved communities, and the statement calls attention to the special purpose credit options under ECOA and Regulation B. CDBA submitted a comment letter on this topic in December of 2020.