News
Southern Bancorp Community Partners on Monday announced that it had hired Anthony Young, a former director of capital programs at the nonprofit Epicenter Foundation, as its new president. Young replaces Karama Neal, who earlier this year was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. At the Memphis-based Epicenter, Young connected entrepreneurs to a variety of capital types and helped ensure equitable access to capital across the community, SBCP said in a news release. He previously served as the economic development director at River City Capital in Memphis, a Community Development Financial Institutions loan fund. Donna Gambrell, SBCP board chair, called Young a "dynamic leader." "His experience and energetic approach to increasing access to capital will be an outstanding foundation for leading our organization into a greater era of growth and impact," she said in the release.
UB Community Development LLC, a community development partner of United Bank, announced that it has closed a $7 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction with Carson Lovell Inc. to develop and construct two federally qualified health centers, which will be located in Milton and Pensacola. The health centers will be operated by Community Health Northwest Florida. Community Health Northwest Florida is a clinic-to-community healthcare provider with 17 care locations throughout Pensacola and the surrounding area.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu delivered remarks on December 8 before the Consumer Federation of America's 34th Annual Financial Services Conference. The remarks, entitled “Reforming Overdraft Programs to Empower and Promote Financial Health”, touched on historical context, inequities, and potential solutions related to bank overdraft programs.
In September, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced the availability of up to $1.9 million in funding through the fiscal year (FY) 2022 round of the AmeriCorps CDFI Economic Mobility Corps (EMC), which is a joint initiative of the CDFI Fund and AmeriCorps that places full-time national service members in Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to enhance their capacity to provide financial literacy, financial planning, budgeting, saving, and other financial counseling activities. Organizations that are interested in applying for an EMC award are encouraged to review the FY 2022 AmeriCorps State and National Direct Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Organizations must apply for an AmeriCorps State and National Direct Grant in order to participate in EMC. Applications are due to AmeriCorps by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to auction off a controlling stake in Birmingham, Alabama-based Alamerica Bank on Wednesday, a move that could result in Alamerica passing out of minority ownership. While a preliminary bidder's list included several large Black-owned banks, it also included some non-minority bidders. Founded in January 2000, the $15.4 million-asset Alamerica is the smallest of the 17 remaining Black-owned banks in the United States. According to William Michael Cunningham, CEO at Creative Investment Research and an authority on Black-owned banks, the FDIC-owned shares were used as security for a $4 million loan from Silverton Bank. They passed into the FDIC's possession following Atlanta-based Silverton's failure in May 2009. The FDIC “certainly has the right to do this,” Cunningham said Tuesday, but he called it troubling that Alamerica might wind up outside the minority banking sector as a result of the auction. “If Alamerica is no longer a Black-owned bank, that could ruin things from a social and cultural perspective, especially in light of the supposed support for Black banks that followed the death of George Floyd,” Cunningham said.
First Southwest Bank isn't one to borrow a page from another bank's playbook. The $435 million-asset community development financial institution (CDFI) in Alamosa, Colo., creates lending programs that are highly tailored to the needs of its rural communities. "We test a lot of programs," says president and CEO Kent Curtis. "If a program works in the area and we think we can duplicate it within our footprint or in other rural areas around the state of Colorado, then we'll do that." That mindset, and its dedication to its community, has led to the bank receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans and grants year after year.
Kent Curtis, President & CEO of First Southwest Bank, with six locations serving southern Colorado, will serve on the Colorado Bankers Association Board of Directors for a multi-year term. The Board of Directors of the Colorado Bankers Association leads the organization in its policy and industry advocacy efforts. The Colorado Bankers Association represents more than 95 percent of the 129 banks operating in Colorado, which have $190 billion in assets, 1,445 branches across the state and more than 20,000 dedicated employees. With over 25 years of successful banking experience, and proven abilities in all facets of management, motivation, team building, lending, and turn-around, Kent Curtis has held various executive officer positions as well as board memberships throughout his community banking career.
For Andrew Kaplan, the chief digital and banking as a service officer at New York Community Bancorp, the reasons to make his bank the first to mint a new stablecoin called USDF were clear. The bank has begun working with Figure Technologies to issue a stablecoin, a digital asset that is always equal to a U.S. dollar, that runs on a blockchain Figure developed called Provenance. As lenders and investors buy and sell loans and other assets on Provenance, the use of the USDF stablecoin lets them settle those transactions instantly. New York Community Bank and Figure hope other banks will join their network, and also issue and honor the stablecoin. New York Community is among a handful of smaller banks forging ahead with cryptocurrency initiatives to both take advantage of clients’ growing interest in digital assets and to reap the potential efficiencies of blockchain technology.
National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a leading financial services company dedicated to providing banking products and services to cooperatives, their members, and socially responsible organizations nationwide, announces Casey Fannon as Acting Chief Executive Officer. "With the sudden passing of Chuck Snyder, NCB's CEO of 29 years on November 6, 2021, NCB and the co-op community have suffered a major loss," stated Debra Huddleston, Chair of NCB's Board of Directors. "We are however very fortunate with the leadership strength of the bank, and I am pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has unanimously approved Casey Fannon as Acting Chief Executive Officer of NCB. The Board has great trust in Casey and his commitment to NCB in serving the co-op community nationwide."
Carver Federal Savings Bank ("Carver"), a certified Minority Depository Institution ("MDI"), announced today that it signed an agreement with Moody's Analytics to begin incorporating the power of its CreditLens solutions to improve customer experience and provide enhancements like the ability to apply for credit through a one-click process typically only found at larger institutions. Carver expects to fully roll out the CreditLens platform to its business clientele in early 2022, including a full suite of enhanced small business loan products. Carver will continue to provide its customers with the same level of personalized banking services that have distinguished the MDI since its founding in Brooklyn and Harlem in 1948. The new platform will also improve the loan application and credit-risk assessment process for retail customers in the future.