Community Development Banking News
CDFI Banking: Industry, Policy, and Beyond.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve will vote on the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Community Reinvestment Act Regulation on Monday, September 21 at 10am Eastern Time. The meeting is open to the public, but due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the public may observe this Board meeting via a live webcast on the Board's website.
The COVID-19 public health crisis coupled with the protests around the country calling for racial justice have made one thing clear: We must use this opportunity to confront and address long-standing issues of racial equity and access to capital and opportunity in this country. Whether we come out of this moment stronger or not depends on how we take action to change economic and social disparities. This is why Harbor Bank and JPMorgan Chase are partnering to make long-term investments that shift the economic future of underserved communities in Baltimore and across the region.
Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) announced a $15 billion, four-year community benefits plan that will increase the financial services company's lending and investments in lower-income communities. Under the plan, developed as part of the financial services company’s application to acquire E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC), Morgan Stanley’s lending and investments in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities and communities of color will increase by 43% annually over previous levels from Morgan Stanley and E*TRADE.
On June 2, Bank of America made a $1 billion, four-year commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity. Today, the company is announcing its initial progress by directing one-third, or $300 million, of its $1 billion commitment to four key areas across 91 U.S. markets and globally: $25 million in support of jobs initiatives in Black and Hispanic/Latino communities, $25 million in support of community outreach and initiatives, $50 million in direct equity investments to Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), and $200 million of proprietary equity investments in minority entrepreneurs, businesses and funds. MDI recipients will include First Independence bank and Optus Bank.
Alabama One Credit Union in Tuscaloosa announced Thursday it has agreed to buy First Bank of Linden, an $82 million-asset, single-branch institution roughly 100 miles west of the state capital, Montgomery. The deal represents the credit union's second takeover of 2020, following a July merger that brought Alabama Rural Electric Credit Union under the Alabama One umbrella. Alabama One CEO Bill Wells said the motivation for the deal was geographical, as it would expand the credit union's footprint in western Alabama, which the executive sees as strategically important.
First Southwest Bank, a community development financial institution, is forging links with its Native American neighbors by offering opportunities for career and economic development. FSWB’s partner nonprofit, the First Southwest Community Fund (FSWCF), is another tool the community bank is using to connect with the Native population. It has created a pilot loan program dubbed the Native American Entrepreneur Loan Fund.
CFBancCorporation ("City First") in Washington, DC and Broadway Financial Corporation ("Broadway," Nasdaq: BYFC) in Los Angeles, CAannounced today that they have entered into a transformational Merger of Equals agreement to create the largest Black-led Minority Depository Institution (MDI) in the nation with more than $1 billion in combined assets under management and approximately $850 million in total depository institution assets (as of June 30, 2020). Combining the two institutions will increase their collective commercial lending capacity for investments in multifamily affordable housing, small businesses, and nonprofit development in financially underserved urban areas, while creating a national platform for impact investors.
PayPal has just deposited $50 million in an account at Optus Bank, a minority-owned institution in Columbia, S.C., that has $155 million in assets. As unlikely as this pairing may sound, it happened relatively quickly. In June, PayPal announced a $530 million commitment to support minority communities and businesses in the U.S., especially those hardest hit by the pandemic, to help address economic inequality. Dominik Mjartan, Optus Bank's CEO, obtained a contact at PayPal through a friend and set in motion a conversation through which the San Jose, Calif., payment giant made Optus one if its recipients. In an interview, Mjartan told the story of how the new funding came about, what he intends to do with it and why so many financial hurdles still exist for Black-owned businesses.
Black Americans have been hit disproportionately hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the White-led financial institutions that could theoretically offer economic support may simply not be enough. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated a crisis for Americans already facing poor economic and health outcomes, and highlights the lack of financial services institutions run by Black founders and executives. CDBA members the Harbor Bank of Maryland, OneUnited Bank, and Carver Federal Savings Bank are mentioned.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) this week announced more than $900,000 was awarded through its Community First® Capacity-Building Grant Program to 21 nonprofit community development lenders working in Illinois or Wisconsin. Grants are used to help strengthen a nonprofit community development lender's financial position, operational efficiency, and/or human capital to support the affordable housing and/or economic development programs the organization provides to the local communities in which they, and the member financial institution, serve. Grant recipients include CDBA members First Eagle Bank and Bay Bank.