Community Development Banking News
CDFI Banking: Industry, Policy, and Beyond.
About 56 million millennials were in the workforce, or were looking to join it, as of 2017. That equals more than a third of the nation's job pool. So recruiting, training, and retaining younger talent is top of mind for many community bankers. But how are banks to best compete for the attention of this new workforce? Several bank executives chimed in on this topic and many others at a recent event held by the American Bankers Association. Read their insights here.
On October 15th, Royal Business Bank announced its completed acquisition of First American International Bank. The transaction brings RBB's total assets to approximately $2.7 billion. "We believe this expanded suite of product offerings will provide a superior banking experience for our customers," says Yee Phong (Alan) Thian, CEO and Chairman of the Board of RBB.
This past week, CDBA was proud to host its first ever congressional staffer bus tour. On the morning of October 12th, CDBA's Public Policy Director Samantha Booth and CEO Jeannine Jacokes boarded a full bus to take a tour of CDFI impact sites in Washington, D.C. The tour, co-led by City First Bank and Industrial Bank, stopped by many of the banks' success stories, including the Elaine Ellis Health Center, Trinity Plaza Day Care, and THEARC.
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, a bank holding company in Lodi, California, has completed its acquisition of the Bank of Rio Vista as of October 10th, 2018. "We are pleased to announce that Bank of Rio Vista is now part of F&M Bank. We believe this transaction will benefit clients of both banks, as well as the local delta and river communities" said Farmers & Merchants Bancorp's Chairman, President, and CEO Kent Steinwert. Craig James, who currently sits on the Bank of Rio Vista Board of Directors, will now join the Board of Farmers & Merchants Bank.
The StoryBank Project is a CDBA initiative that captures our member banks' success stories through the eyes of their customers. These episodes show how underserved communities benefit directly from our mission-based banking and financial services. This week's video features Citizens Savings Bank and Trust, the oldest African American-owned bank in the country. Its featured client, Dr. Roosevelt Joyner, received a loan from the bank to start a cosmetology and barbering school for Memphis residents. Watch the video here.
On Monday, October 8th, CDBA and First Eagle Bank organized a regional CDFI Banker gathering in Chicago before the annual OFN Conference. The event was an exciting opportunity for locals to network with mission-driven banks from around the country and to engage on hot topics in the community development banking sector in the areas of policy, best practices, impact measurement.
A new movement in Oakland has locals calling for the establishment of a new institution, the Oakland Public Bank. This bank is meant to be a more mission driven and impact focused alternative to big banks in the area. However, Oakland's own Community Bank of the Bay, started in 1996, largely does much of this already. So is the proposal for this new bank just treading old ground?
Increased regulatory challenges lead to increased compliance costs. This causes substantial operational impacts on financial institutions across the United States, including CDFI banks. Join leading financial, regulatory, and investment experts in Washington, DC to learn how tech is solving complex regulation, automating solutions, and enabling compliance management. Speakers include Bank of America's Cathy Bessant, Coinbase's Brian Brooks, and former CIA Director John Brennan. Click here to register.
Watch this short video which takes us through some of the crucial impact work Carver Federal Savings Bank does for its community. Carver reinvests more than 80 percent of deposits back into its community through loans that support local job creation, development, and revitalization. In this video you will learn about the work Carver does with four customers making tremendous cultural and economic contributions to their community. These customers include the influential Dance Theatre of Harlem, the historic Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the entrepreneurial Classico Building Maintenance company, and the inspiring Brooklyn Free School.
New research shows that where children live matters deeply in whether they prosper as adults. On Monday the Census Bureau, in collaboration with researchers at Harvard and Brown, published nationwide data that will make it possible to pinpoint — down to the census tract, a level relevant to individual families — where children of all backgrounds have the best shot at getting ahead. Believing this, officials in the Seattle Housing Authority are offering families with housing vouchers extra rent money and help to find a home in these prosperous areas.