Recent News
CDBA members VCC, Sunrise Banks, Beneficial State Bank, and Amalgamated Bank have been awarded Real Leaders Impact Awards. These awards honor the 100 top impact companies applying capitalism for greater profit and greater good. It's the annual ranking of positive impact companies in the world. These companies are driving a dynamic segment of the economy, bearing a new vision of capitalism that demonstrates every transaction is an opportunity for growth and a better world.
The Marketing AI Strategy Project Intern will conduct market and audience research to develop, build and implement solutions for increasing loan growth for a specific bank offered product. Additionally, they will assist the Impact Team with other tasks as needed in areas such as marketing support, internal communications, writing and/or customer experience.
Sunrise Banks Chief Brand Officer Becca Hoeft has received Ragan's Top Women in Communication Award, an honor that recognizes female communicators advancing their profession and accelerating growth for their organization. Hoeft was recognized in the "Leader" category and among roughly 100 other winners from major companies across the globe, including Aflac, Best Buy, Amazon, The FBI and Cisco. According to Ragan, the award is given to those who inspire others and are "changing the narrative" in the communications and public relations sector.
Backed by guarantee commitments from 10 philanthropic organizations across the United States and a large health care system, the Community Investment Guarantee Pool (the Pool) announced its formation. Guarantees are unfunded commitments from an organization's endowment that offer risk mitigation. The Pool, with guarantee commitments totaling $33.1 million, is a new tool for community development finance and the first of its kind in the U.S. It is expected to catalyze more than $150 million in new community investments in small businesses, climate and affordable housing. LOCUS Impact... Read more
A plan to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act should theoretically be welcomed by community development financial institutions, but many such organizations are raising alarm about a key component of the proposal written by two federal regulators. The framework drafted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would place a new emphasis on the dollar amount of CRA projects for banks to be in compliance. This worries CDFI loan funds, which specialize in making relatively small credits and worry the new plan will lead to less capital from bank... Read more
Urban and rural America lost branch banks at a similar rate from 2012 to 2017, according to the Federal Reserve. But the loss could have graver consequences for a larger proportion of rural areas.About 40 percent of rural counties experienced a net loss of branch banks from 2012 to 2017, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve System. The study found that 39 of these rural counties were "deeply affected" by the loss of banking services, meaning they had 10 or fewer bank branches in 2012 and lost at least half that number over the five-year period.
Americans desperately need help saving money, and fintechs are stepping up with intuitive apps that make saving simple and automatic. As consumers now funnel billions of dollars into these apps, banks and credit unions that don't join the crowd could be missing out on a big opportunity.
United Bank is proud to announce the addition of Elmo “Douglas” Ziebach, Jr. to their Board of Directors. The Monroeville, Alabama business owner and community leader begins his term body following service as a member of United Bank’s Monroe County Advisory Board. “We are very pleased to have Douglas join our board.” said Bob Jones, United Bank President and CEO. “His commitment to community service as well as his success in business make him eminently qualified as a bank director. Douglas’ business interest fit nicely with our service area and growth plans. United Bank’s dedication to... Read more
Arkadelphia's Southern Bancorp Inc. has joined the ranks of Certified B Corporations, an Arkansas first. The $1.4 billion-asset lender is among 10 banks and thrifts in the nation to gain the designation, which denotes the highest standards of social performance, transparency and legal accountability, balancing profit and purpose. Southern Bancorp changed its legal structure to become a benefit corporation in 2017. The move solidified its legal empowerment to pursue societal impact alongside profit. Arkansas was among seven states to enact B Corporation legislation in 2013.
Few of us think about how our banking affects the environment but, in reality, putting your money with a green-minded financial institution may be one of the best things you can do to help conserve land, protect air and water, save endangered wildlife and mitigate climate change. Banks (owned by shareholders) and credit unions (owned by the customers) lend and invest some of the deposited funds they are holding, which is how they're able to pay interest back to you. A bank or credit union that limits its investments to sustainability-oriented companies and institutions is well on its way... Read more
Teri Williams is President & COO and owner of OneUnited Bank, the largest Black owned bank in the country and supporter of the #BankBlack and #BuyBlack Movement. She is responsible for the Bank's strategic initiatives, as well as the day to day operations, including all retail branches, marketing, compliance, lending, information technology, customer support, legal, and human resources. Ms. Williams brings 30 years of financial services expertise including Bank of America and American Express, where she was one of the youngest Vice Presidents.
The Credit Insecurity Index is a new tool that helps to provide a more comprehensive view of credit access and community credit health. By moving beyond metrics that traditionally focus on residents without a credit file or score, this Index incorporates an additional assessment of residents who are "credit constrained," that is, unlikely to obtain credit at choice to manage emergencies, take advantage of opportunities, or invest in one's future. The report, Unequal Access to Credit: The Hidden Impact of Credit Constraints, explains how the Index provides a more complete picture of... Read more
Sourced from the above New York Fed article, this map is a vivid depiction of credit inequality in the United States. The dark areas show counties where a large proportion of the population has no access to credit, while the lighter areas are considered "credit-assured" or "credit-likely."
Proposed changes to the Community Reinvestment Act could serve as a catalyst for banks to become more active in financing projects inside Opportunity Zones, according to some development experts. Opportunity Zones provide tax incentives to investors in development projects located low and moderate-income neighborhoods. Under proposed changes to the 42-year-old Community Reinvestment Act, any type of lending conducted in a low- or moderate-income census tract located within an in Opportunity Zones would qualify for CRA credit. Jeannine Jacokes, the CEO of the Community Development Bankers... Read more
A group of 6 CDFIs known as the Partners for Rural Transformation has released a paper detailing the work of CDFIs in persistent poverty areas. The report finds that those in persistent poverty areas are overwhelmingly in rural areas and people of color. Despite evidence of success by CDFIs in improving employment, housing, banking and infrastructure, philanthropic, bank and federal investment in development in persistent poverty regions continue to lag. The report details why this is as well as receommendations for advancing social and economic opportunity in distressed communities.
After nearly two years of anticipation, financial regulators unveiled a sweeping proposal Thursday to reform how they implement the Community Reinvestment Act. The plan, released at a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board meeting, will overhaul CRA assessment boundaries, criteria for activities earning credit in CRA exams and how banks are scored overall for their performance. If finalized, the proposal would be the first significant update to the 1977 law in over two decades. The proposal has been championed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Despite support from the FDIC,... Read more
It’s no secret that racism has been baked into the American banking system. There are few black executives in the upper echelons of most financial institutions. Leading banks have recently paid restitution to black employees for isolating them from white peers, placing them in the poorest branches and cutting them off from career opportunities. Black customers are sometimes profiled, viewed with suspicion just for entering a bank and questioned over the most basic transactions. This year, researchers for the National Bureau of Economic Research found that black mortgage borrowers were... Read more
Liberty Bank and Trust Company and its parent bank holding company (Liberty Financial Services Inc.) and Louisville Development Bancorp Inc. (the holding company for Metro Bank Inc.) announced their agreement that Louisville Development Bancorp will be acquired by Liberty Bank and Trust Company in a share exchange transaction. The cash transaction is subject to Louisville Development Bancorp shareholder and regulatory approval and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2020. Liberty Bank and Trust Company operates 16 offices in eight states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Kansas,... Read more
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Minneapolis, Richmond, San Francisco, the Board of Governors, and the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund will co-sponsor the CDFI Symposium on May 19-20, 2020 at the St. Louis Fed. This convening of researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and funders is designed to introduce and promote the awareness of current CDFI research across various disciplines (i.e. law, public policy, business, economics, etc.). The CDFI Fund invites the submission of papers, which are due Jan... Read more
Brinshore Development, LLC, and the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri (HAKC), today announced the grand opening of Pendleton ArtsBlock -- a state-of-the-art, 38-unit, mixed-income development that features loft-style studio, one and two-bedroom units along with a roof deck, workshop, fitness room, secured car and bike parking and three micro-retail bays for Charlotte Street Foundation's StartUp Residency program. Designed by Dake Wells and DRAW architecture, Pendleton ArtsBlock compliments the historic Pendleton Heights by embracing Independence Avenue and framing... Read more