Recent News
CDBA is proud to welcome Kristy Esquibel (First Southwest Bank, Durango, CO) and Mike Vincent (United Bank, Atmore, AL) to our Board of Directors!
Kristy Esquibel serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer at First Southwest Bank. She holds a bachelor's degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, an MBA from Colorado State University, Pueblo, and a banking certification from Western States School of Banking. Kristy has served as the President of the Alamosa Chamber of... Read more
Pravina Raghavan has resigned as the Director of the CDFI Fund, effective June 27th. At this time, we do not have information on her replacement. Please join us in thanking Director Raghavan for her service and in wishing her well in her future endeavors. Stay tuned for future communications.
"Ever since the House of Representatives narrowly passed its version of the reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBB), at the end of May, most of the attention has rightly been focused on its potential impacts on the federal deficit and steep cuts to safety-net programs like Medicaid and SNAP. But for housing and community development stakeholders, there are some silver linings tucked into the BBB. These mostly come in the form of enhancements to certain federal programs that provide tax advantages to qualified housing and community development investments."
"The Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to establish requirements on how companies account for government grants in their financial reports, following awards provided in recent years as pandemic-related and other relief.
The standard setter on Wednesday voted, 4-3, to require U.S. public and private companies to record the value of grants they've received. Most companies already voluntarily do this by applying an existing standard on government-aid accounting from the FASB's international counterpart, the London-based International Accounting Standards Board. "
"Today, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Trump's $9.4 billion rescission request—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, underscored in how Republicans passing the package would devastate local public radio and TV stations nationwide, gut investments Congress has made to support longstanding bipartisan foreign policy objectives, and undermine the bipartisan annual appropriations process."
"For now, the wave of support appears to have held any staffing cuts at bay, Jeannine Jacokes, CEO of the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA), said in an interview. In late March, the Treasury Department issued a statement affirming that the CDFI fund and related programs are statutorily authorized. The statement also said that senior Treasury leadership has consistently expressed support for CDFIs, that the CDFI Fund is operating normally and that Treasury does not anticipate any disruptions.
'People in Treasury told us that they heard from offices all over the Hill,'... Read more
"Russ Vought's relationship with Republican appropriators was already strained. Then he started talking about pursuing the ultimate end-run around their funding power heading into the fall.
The White House budget director has been persistently touting the virtues of 'pocket rescissions,' a tactic he has floated as a way to codify the spending cuts Elon Musk made while atop his Department of Government Efficiency initiative, and which the federal government's top watchdog says is illegal."
"The CDFI Fund, part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, provides detailed data on CDFI loans and investments. Using the most recent Consumer Loan Reports and Transaction Level Reports1 from 2018 to 2022, this analysis highlights the role that consumer lending2 plays at CDFIs across the Eighth Federal Reserve District (PDF) and the U.S.
As previously noted, CDFIs provide financing for various purposes, such as supporting small businesses, financing real estate development, making consumer loans, and more. Consumer lending comprises the largest portion of CDFI financing over this... Read more
"U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today released legislative text within the Finance Committee's jurisdiction for inclusion in Senate Republicans' budget reconciliation bill."
CDBA has attached the full section-by-section summary below. Click on the link to Subchapter C addressing community development finance related tax provisions. Other provisions of interest to mission-focused banks may include Subchapter D - 70435 Exclusion of Interest on Loans Secured by Rural or Agricultural Real Property (ACRE Act) and Chapter 5, Subchapter A - Termination of "... Read more
"President Donald Trump's budget chief is trying out an audacious strategy to eliminate congressionally approved funding without lawmakers' sign-off.
Russ Vought, who leads the Office of Management and Budget, has directed a dozen federal agencies to freeze upward of $30 billion in spending on a broad array of programs, including ones at NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, write Scott Waldman and Corbin Hiar.
The plan is to delay that funding until the final weeks of the fiscal year, which runs until Sept. 30. Then, the White House will ask Congress to permanently... Read more
"In the past, the Board has 'pushed down' requirements developed for the largest firms to smaller banks, often including regional and community banks. One approach that would preserve tailoring is to create an independent community bank supervisory and regulatory framework to clearly separate these banks from larger bank supervision and regulation. This would serve to insulate these smaller banks from standards designed for larger and more complex firms."
"A small subset of the U.S. financial system called Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, supports economic growth at the local level. The industry is comprised of different types of institutions operating in different ways. Each works to achieve a common mission: improving economic outcomes for underserved communities. Research from the New York Fed shows the industry is growing and changing. In this episode we hear from Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the New York Fed team doing CDFI research, a researcher from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and CDFI leaders... Read more
"Little Rock-based Southern Bancorp, Inc., a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and holding company for Southern Bancorp Bank, plans to acquire Ozarks Heritage Financial Group, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Legacy Bank and Trust, a $1.9 billion asset CDFI based in Springfield, Mo.
The acquisition will expand Southern Bancorp's footprint and expand its asset size to nearly $5 billion. Legacy Bank and Trust now operates in nine locations across Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, with a staff of nearly 200."
"You need a loan, but the bank wants to see your credit score, employment history, and debt-to-income ratio. These standard measures of creditworthiness determine if you're likely to repay what you borrow. But what if those measures don't work for you?
For many individuals in Indian Country, traditional lending criteria may not fully capture their creditworthiness. That's where Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) step in. Instead of relying solely on conventional criteria, they sometimes evaluate borrowers using alternative criteria that reflect the realities... Read more
"As California grapples with a rising cost of living, many residents remain locked out of basic financial services. To address this, the state legislature is considering a proposal to establish state-run bank accounts, giving Californians a way to save money without incurring fees or maintaining a minimum balance.
The CalAccount program would establish voluntary, zero-fee, zero-penalty, federally-insured transaction accounts that could help people who currently have limited access to banking options."
"The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced today that it has conditionally approved the merger of Discover Bank, Greenwood, Delaware, into Capital One, National Association, McLean, Virginia.
The OCC conducted a fulsome review of the application submitted March 21, 2024, to ensure all statutory and regulatory requirements have been met. The approval also follows consideration of numerous public comments submitted in writing and expressed during a public meeting held with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System conducted on July 19, 2024. Today's... Read more
"Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood today discussed strategic areas of focus for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in remarks at the Exchequer Club.
In his remarks, Acting Comptroller Hood detailed the OCC's efforts to reduce regulatory burden; promote financial inclusion; embrace bank-fintech partnerships; and expand responsible bank activities involving digital assets. He also affirmed the OCC's commitment to modernizing the federal banking system and maintaining its safety and integrity."
"A federal judge on Wednesday indefinitely blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from clawing back billions of dollars in Biden-era climate grants.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the EPA may not suspend or terminate the green grant awards nor limit access to those funds while a lawsuit challenging the effort to recoup the money moves forward."
"The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced changes to its organizational structure to ensure its approach to supervision evolves to better address today's challenges, align similar functions within the agency, and leverage opportunities for efficiencies.
The OCC will combine the Midsize and Community Bank Supervision and Large Bank Supervision functions to create the Bank Supervision and Examination line of business. Blending the large, midsize and community bank supervision activities will allow for the seamless sharing of expertise and resources to... Read more
"Reps. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), along with 114 bipartisan cosponsors, have introduced NAHB-supported legislation that will improve the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and allow builders to increase production of badly needed affordable rental housing.
The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 addresses the need to boost housing production to ease the nation's housing affordability crisis. The bill would help finance more than 2 million additional multifamily units over the next decade."