Community Development Banking News
CDFI Banking: Industry, Policy, and Beyond.
President Trump is expected to release his budget proposal tomorrow Thursday, March 16th. Calling for a dramatic $54 billion increase in military spending, he is expected to call for significant cuts to domestic discretionary funding, which according to the New York Times, calls for a CDFI Fund that is "all but eliminated" from the federal budget.
The President's proposal however, is just the first step in the federal budgeting process. As Congress holds the purse strings and oversees the final decisions on appropriations. CDBA is actively working to educate congressional legislators on the vital role that CDFI banks play in their communities and the role that the CDFI Fund plays in supporting CDFIs.
CDBA along with partner banking trade associations: The American Bankers Association (ABA), Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA), and the National Bankers Association (NBA) released a joint press letter calling for $250 million for the CDFI Fund, including $23 million for the BEA program in FY 2017 and $25 million for it in FY 2018.
This new podcast asks community members and organizations across the U.S. about the challenges they are facing and solutions they’ve found for significant social issues like economic mobility, affordable housing, small business development and community reinvestment. Each episode showcases successful programs that help provide access to opportunity for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The latest episode, "Access to Community Ownership," features organizations helping manufactured home residents take ownership of their communities to improve economic stability and security. The first episode, "Access to Affordable Consumer Credit," released in Dec. 2016, highlights an innovative small-dollar loan program.
CDBA Member, Community Bank of the Bay, an Oakland, California-based CDFI recently announced the completion of a $12 million private placement, which will result in approximately $11.5 million of net proceeds to the Bank. As CEO William Keller shares, "This capital raise will allow Community Bank of the Bay to better meet the needs of our clients and the communities we serve. We are especially excited to be able to support in a greater way the dynamic growth that is occurring in Oakland, a community that we have been proud to serve for over twenty years."
President Trump met with nine community bankers last week to discuss the needs of community banks within the greater framework of regulatory reform. On reflection of the meeting, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee shared that, "It is encouraging to have a president who is listening to the concerns of community bankers who have been buried under an avalanche of burdensome regulations as a result of Dodd-Frank."
Concerned citizens around the country are closing their accounts with "Big Banks" either in protest of investments in controversial projects such as the Dakota Access pipeline or in support of a more localized form of community investment in the case of the #BankBlack movement. As Beneficial State CEO Kat Taylor shares, "We know how mass movements can start and increase and aggregate to something that moves hearts and minds - and markets."
Carver State Bank was established in 1927 and is the oldest bank headquartered in Savannah. This year, they are celebrating their 90th anniversary. Learn more about Carver in the profile written by bank President Robert E. James.
Urban Partnership Bank, a CDBA member and CDFI Bank is tackling Chicago's epidemic of violence by investing in local communities using their innovative commercial lending, small business and affordable housing products. And for the first time in 6 years, they are making a profit doing so.
Mission Valley Bancorp reported record high net earnings of $3.478 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2016, up 11 percent from the previous year. President & CEO Tamara Gurney of Mission Valley Bancorp, a CDBA member, stated "2016 was a very good year for Mission Valley and as we enter into 2017, our balance sheet is well positioned to benefit from a higher interest rate environment. We have a sound, diversified balance sheet, a solid capital base to carry us forward and a tremendous team dedicated to our success and to the success of our clients and shareholders. Mission Valley Bancorp is well positioned to maintain our course of steady and controlled growth throughout 2017 and beyond."
Supporters of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, are weighing the potential for budget cuts against the administration's interest in creating jobs and helping low-income communities. “Obviously there’s a concern about the future support” for the fund, said Jeannine Jacokes, executive director of the Community Development Bankers Association. Jacokes said she hopes that Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin will realize that he “already has some proven and highly effective tools right under his nose at the CDFI Fund.”