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Southern Bancorp Community Partners (SBCP) seeks a President who brings dynamic and visionary leadership to a nationally respected, high impact community development financial institution delivering loans, development services focused on credit and savings and policy advocacy to expand economic opportunity. Southern Bancorp Community Partners (SBCP) is a certified nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) established in 1987 to create economic opportunity in financially underserved communities.
Every year, B Lab recognizes the top-performing B Corps creating the greatest impact through their businesses. These B Corps are named Best for the World as their verified scores in the five impact areas evaluated on the B Impact Assessment (BIA)—community, customers, environment, governance, and workers—are amongst the global top 5% in their corresponding size group. These businesses are proving that competing not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world, is a winning strategy, and they can lead the way as more businesses continue to join the movement that is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. This year, Beneficial State Bank, City First Bank, Spring Bank, Sunrise Banks, and Virginia Community Capital were among the banks named Best for the World.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is launching a streamlined application portal to allow borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA. This new change will help rush relief to over 6.5 million smallest of small businesses which has been the Administrator’s priority since day one. The new forgiveness platform will begin accepting applications from borrowers on August 4th, 2021. Lenders are required to opt-in to this program through https://directforgiveness.sba.gov. In addition to the technology platform, the SBA is standing up a PPP customer service team to answer questions and directly assist borrowers with their forgiveness applications. Borrowers that need assistance or have questions should call (877) 552-2692, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST.
Join the San Francisco Fed on August 25 for a virtual event titled "Fintech, Racial Equity, and an Inclusive Financial System" to launch a new issue of Community Development Innovation Review. The event will explore the promises and pitfalls of fintech as a means of expanding financial inclusion and reaching underserved communities of color. Innovations in financial technology, or fintech, are changing the ways people interact with the financial system. With these changes comes the possibility of improving inclusion for those who currently lack access to the traditional financial system, including low-income communities and communities of color. But with new ways of doing business come new risks of perpetuating existing inequities or creating new ones. The program features Mary C. Daly, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, in conversation with Ida Rademacher, executive director of the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program. Experts from across the community development and fintech spaces will discuss the risks and opportunities of financial technology innovation.
Climate First Bank, the nation's only bank founded specifically to combat the climate crisis, today welcomes four new hires to its team. The additions include Holly Bridwell as marketing director and wingwoman to the chairman, Lauren Dubé as vice president and director of client and mission partnerships, Blaine Worak as senior vice president, senior credit administrator and loan operations manager, and Rachel Yorston as commercial and government-guaranteed lending associate. Dubbed the "Mighty Millennials," these brilliant, young professionals and their collective dedication to prevent the climate crisis represent the country's brightest future.Climate First Bank is a values-based community bank offering a complete, full-service portfolio of simple and easy-to-use traditional banking products. These products are powered by high technology to meet the expectations of today’s consumers. In addition to offering standard banking services, the company places a special emphasis on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and businesses committed to sustainability. Eco-conscious customers will find dedicated loan options for solar photovoltaic (PV), energy retrofits and infrastructure to help combat the climate crisis.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced it will propose rescinding the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rule issued in May 2020 and is committed to working with the Federal Reserve (Board) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to put forward a joint rulemaking that strengthens and modernizes the CRA.
This decision follows the completion of a review initiated by Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu shortly after he took office."To ensure fairness in the face of persistent and rising inequality and changes in banking, the CRA must be strengthened and modernized," said Acting Comptroller Hsu. "The disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on low and moderate income communities, the comments provided on the Board's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and our experience with implementation of the 2020 rule have highlighted the criticality of strengthening the CRA jointly with the Board and FDIC. While the OCC deserves credit for taking action to modernize the CRA through adoption of the 2020 rule, upon review I believe it was a false start. This is why we will propose rescinding it and facilitating an orderly transition to a new rule. I look forward to working with the other agencies to develop a joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and building on the ANPR proposed by the Board in September 2020."
SouthState Bank announced an investment of $500,000 into Optus Bank, a federally designated minority depository institution (MDI) and community development financial institution (CDFI), in support of the bank's mission to close the wealth gap in previously unbanked, underbanked, and historically underserved people and places. "Fulfilling our commitment to closing the opportunity gaps in our communities requires strategic investments from mission-aligned partners like SouthState. With support of their equity investment, we have raised a total of $17 million in new capital since 2020 and grown our assets to nearly $300 million," said Dominik Mjartan, Optus Bank president & CEO. "Deploying this capital into underserved communities, minority owned homes and businesses to create generational wealth is Optus Bank's mission and mandate."
The legislative housing package led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters includes: The Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2021, which would provide a historic investment of over $600 billion in equitable, affordable, and accessible housing infrastructure. This generational investment would address our national eviction and homelessness crises, increase access to homeownership, and support a robust recovery from the pandemic by creating jobs, addressing climate change, and improving housing stability for struggling households; The Ending Homelessness Act of 2021, which would end homelessness and significantly reduce poverty in America by transforming the Housing Choice Voucher program into a federal entitlement, so that every household who qualifies for assistance would receive it. The lead cosponsors of this bill are Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY); The Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021, which would help address the U.S. racial wealth and homeownership gaps by providing $100 billion toward downpayment and other financial assistance for first-generation homebuyers to purchase their first home. The lead cosponsors of this bill are Representative Al Green (D-TX), Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Representative Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL), Representative Cindy Axne (D-IA), and Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX).
America's largest Black owned bank, OneUnited Bank, has made history again with its inaugural free OneTransaction Conference to close the racial wealth gap which happened on Juneteenth (June 19,2021). The conference boasted registrations of over 30,000 people! Attendees enjoyed back-to-back informative and entertaining 1-hour sessions that highlighted the OneTransaction formula – choosing one transaction to focus on in 2021 - with Black finance experts like The Budgetnista, Sharon Epperson and Chris Browning, as well as pop icons Daymond John who talked about how he built his profitable businesses and Emmy award winning actress Tiffany Haddish who talked about her love of homeownership and her pursuit of happiness. The segments covered the 6 transactions that can create generational wealth for Black America: wills, life insurance, home ownership, a profitable business, savings/investment and an improved credit score. A portion of the conference was hosted live by OneUnited owners Kevin Cohee, CEO & Chairman and Teri Williams, President & COO, at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in the heart of Harlem, which provided a beautiful, culturally relevant backdrop for the live portion of the show. Kevin & Teri talked about the historic legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday and what it means for the future of the Black struggle, the definition of "anti-racism" and how it relates to money and closing the racial wealth gap. Attendees were also invited to join the #BankBlack Movement, led by OneUnited Bank. In between pre-recorded segments and the live portions of the show, the audience enjoyed an exciting mix of music by D.J. Hasan Insane, who laid out the old school hits that kept the party going in between sessions. The full OneTransaction Conference replay is free and open to the public for viewing at www.oneunited.com/onetransaction2021. Join OneUnited Bank on Juneteenth 2022 for the 2nd Annual OneTransaction Conference.
Different demographic groups in the United States use banks in different ways. White Americans are far more likely to have a bank account and use banking services. Black, Indigenous and people of color, by contrast, are more likely to be unbanked or underbanked. A century ago, that was by design, but with the passage of anti-discrimination and anti-redlining laws in the 1960s and 1970s, nonwhite Americans have gradually been increasing their access to the financial mainstream. But there's one group that has been harder to reach than any other: Indigenous communities, and particularly Indigenous communities living on tribal reservations. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., more than 16% of people who identified as American Indian/Alaska Native were unbanked in 2019 — no checking or savings accounts, no bank loans. That percentage might not sound like a lot, but, for comparison, less than 2.5% of white people were unbanked in the same period. That makes Indigenous Americans the most unbanked demographic group the FDIC tracks. Some banks have managed to navigate these systems already. Native American Bank in Denver began in Montana in 1987 as Blackfeet National Bank, the first bank ever chartered by Indigenous peoples on a reservation. Today the $201 million-asset bank is partially owned by several tribal nations all over the country and has financed projects across 25 states. Tom Ogaard, president and CEO of Native American Bank, said success begins with familiarity.