Community Development Banking News
CDFI Banking: Industry, Policy, and Beyond.
When Stephanie Shimp's restaurant business was on the verge of financial disaster, Sunrise Banks stepped in to help them through the use of SBA-backed loans. "There may be something that prevents the loan from being done conventionally," says Chris Albrecht, Sunrise Bank's senior vice president and SBA manager. "The hope is that these [SBA] loans will transition into conventional financing." And for Shimp, they did exactly that. "We have grown really because of and through this SBA product," she explains. "It's a real company now." Read more here.
1st Southwest Bank customer Animas Chocolate Company has revolutionized the world of chocolate for Durango locals. The shop specializes in both bean-to-bar chocolate and fine chocolate mixes such as hot chocolate, truffles, and more. Owners Carley and Marc have taken dessert-making to a whole new level, making tasty and enjoying sweets an experience anyone will want to share. Recently, the bank reached out to the owners to get their take on what it's like running their unique business. Read more here.
Tiffany Stone set out to change her community for the better. So, she began at BankPlus. She started as the Banking Center head teller then quickly moved on to become a branch manager and senior universal banker. "The coolest part of my career is to be a part of the future of banking," Stone said. "Our branches are the future of banking with ITM: Interactive Teller Machines. This is where a live person takes care of all your transactions through our Interactive Teller Machine just like you would at any teller window at any bank. Our branches are not your typical branch look, but customers love it because it's so pleasant and efficient." Read her full story here.
Sunrise Banks serves two distinct client groups — underserved communities and fintech. And for Chairman and CEO David Reiling, finding innovative ways to have the two efforts support each other is the way to move forward. "We want to be the preferred fintech bank," says Reiling. "We want venture capital companies to say, 'Oh, you bank with Sunrise? OK, I'll invest in your fintech.' Because they'll know they have a chance to be successful." Read the full American Banker interview here.
Earlier this month, BankFirst announced an expansion of its business banking solutions to offer SBA 7a, and 504 loans to small business owners throughout Mississippi and Alabama. With a retail branch network in central Mississippi and Alabama, BankFirst's entrance into SBA lending will allow the bank to better serve its existing communities as well as develop a southeastern presence to offer loan products that help small business owners who may not qualify for conventional loans. Walter W. Dyminski has been hired to lead the bank's Small Business Administration (SBA) lending group.
Cities and towns all over the country are implementing innovative tactics to invigorate and revitalize their communities. On Dec. 13th, LOCUS' parent company Virginia Community Capital (VCC) will hold a conversation about these place-based trends with Bruce Katz, author of "The New Localism" and former Centennial Scholar at the Brookings Institute, and Erika Poethig, Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of Urban Institute. The session will be moderated by Craig Carper, News Director of 88.9 WCVE Public Radio.
Durham, N.C. was once known nationally for its "Black Wall Street," a cluster of flourishing black-owned financial institutions and businesses. In the 1960s that energy dissipated in the wake of urban development, but still the city held on to a large number of black owned businesses. Now, propelled by a national fellowship program, the city of Durham is building a plan and a set of tools to help preserve black-owned businesses in the face of an aging baby boomer generation, a new knowledge economy, and 21st-century business model shifts that traditional entrepreneurs may ignore.
The OCC received more than 1,300 comments on its advance notice of proposed rulemaking asking for responses on how to expand the 1977-era CRA, which grades banks on lending to low-to moderate-income communities in their branch networks. Opinions about the proposed rulemaking notice vary. Many in the industry have lauded the step taken by the agency, which insists it was merely trying to gather feedback. But some stakeholders say the agency's questions reflected its policy leanings.
Money worries are a top concern for American workers, with the stress often distracting them from the job. As a result, companies are realizing the need to provide better financial literacy and services for their employees. To support this need, Spring Bank has recently begun partnering with businesses to offer its Employee Opportunity Loan program. The program provides loans to employees at participating companies of up to $2,500 with no minimum credit score requirement as alternative to payday loans and other high-interest financial options.
CDBA is proud to announce that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has funded CDBA's Small Business Impact at Scale Initiative with a $500,000 grant. The initiative, in partnership with Partners for the Common Good (PCG), focuses on building the capacity of CDFI banks to measure, assess, and communicate the impact of their small business lending. With the grant, the initiative will expand to help CDFI banks identify common business impact indicators, provide shared training and exchange of best practices, and pilot new models for efficient data collection on their over $4 billion in business loans.