Recent News
A new movement in Oakland has locals calling for the establishment of a new institution, the Oakland Public Bank. This bank is meant to be a more mission driven and impact focused alternative to big banks in the area. However, Oakland's own Community Bank of the Bay, started in 1996, largely does much of this already. So is the proposal for this new bank just treading old ground?
Increased regulatory challenges lead to increased compliance costs. This causes substantial operational impacts on financial institutions across the United States, including CDFI banks. Join leading financial, regulatory, and investment experts in Washington, DC to learn how tech is solving complex regulation, automating solutions, and enabling compliance management. Speakers include Bank of America's Cathy Bessant, Coinbase's Brian Brooks, and former CIA Director John Brennan. Click here to register.
Watch this short video which takes us through some of the crucial impact work Carver Federal Savings Bank does for its community. Carver reinvests more than 80 percent of deposits back into its community through loans that support local job creation, development, and revitalization. In this video you will learn about the work Carver does with four customers making tremendous cultural and economic contributions to their community. These customers include the influential Dance Theatre of Harlem, the historic Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the entrepreneurial... Read more
New research shows that where children live matters deeply in whether they prosper as adults. On Monday the Census Bureau, in collaboration with researchers at Harvard and Brown, published nationwide data that will make it possible to pinpoint — down to the census tract, a level relevant to individual families — where children of all backgrounds have the best shot at getting ahead. Believing this, officials in the Seattle Housing Authority are offering families with housing vouchers extra rent money and help to find a home in these prosperous areas.
John Lewis has more than 22 years of experience in the financial services industry and works as the Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer for The Harbor Bank of Maryland. As such, Lewis is aptly prepared to offer crucial insights regarding the new 2018 investing incentives created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In this article, Lewis speaks specifically towards the topic of Opportunity Zones.
Increasing diversity in the executive ranks of the banking industry requires the support of senior leadership and more determination from those looking to move up, according to presenters at a forum on minorities in banking hosted by the Federal Reserve. The two-day event featured speakers who provided advice on how to improve the experiences of minorities at banks of all sizes. The most concerning area was promotion. In the Chicago area, minorities make up a third of the nearly 88,000 banking jobs, but only 9% of the market's roughly 3,100 senior-level posts.
The Trump Administration recently proposed changes to the Community Reinvestment Act, a law initially intended to fix problems caused by redlining. Recent investigations show that redlining never went away, and these underserved areas continue to fall behind in racial and economic-equity indicators. So clearly, CRA could be improved. But it has been an important antidote to redlining and plays a critical role in increasing access to fair credit. Now advocates and bankers serving the public interest have the opportunity to make it better, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's... Read more
In an effort to foster more sustainable, responsible, and impactful investing outcomes, VCC's Virginia Impact Investing Forum has released its first Virginia Impact Report. This collection of 15 articles offers advisors, investors, philanthropists, and other stakeholders a platform for discussion and learning opportunities about impact investing across the state. The report provides perspectives, case studies, and covers many topics relating to mission aligned investing, reducing poverty, uncovering "blind spots" and much more.
In Arkansas, one in 10 households currently do not have a bank account. Because of this, most families rely on expensive services to access their money and to monthly bills. Luckily, a new program called Bank on Arkansas+ is working to expand access to banking in these underserved communities. Southern Bancorp is one of the leading institutions helping launch the program with their new Opportunity Card. Watch the news report here.
In hopes of solving the issues which led to the financial crisis, a coalition of Californian cities has expressed interest in establishing locally-accountable, ethical banks owned by government bodies, known as public banks. Oakland joins San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, and New York City along with New Jersey and Michigan in the quest to establish socially-responsible, government-owned financial institutions that can fulfill public missions faithfully.
Maryland has the highest representation of minority and women-owned businesses in the nation. However, those enterprises suffer disproportionately from being denied access to funding. And when they do access capital, much less is typically offered at higher interest rates, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency. How do we address this? Well, John Lewis, Executive Vice President of the Harbor Bank of Maryland, testified recently to the Senate that "community banks are the solution as they are essential to small business asset... Read more
The Community Reinvestment Act, passed in 1977, has encouraged investment in previously neglected neighborhoods, specifically helping minority communities. Now, the Trump administration is proposing changes to that law in the hopes of simplifying it. While many in the industry do welcome change, the NCRC's Jesse Van Tol explains how all this may be for the worse.
The Urban Institute invites you to watch a special live webcast led by Washington Post syndicated columnist Michelle Singletary. During the session, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers will delve into the myths and facts about credit, why those views are so persistent, and why credit building should be expanded for low-income Americans. The session will also debut a new video and fact sheet dispelling the myths of credit. The webcast will be live on September 18th from 2:30 PM-4:00 PM EST.
On the morning of Saturday, September 15th, FBT Bank & Mortgage hosted its second annual Give 'N' Get Outdoors event to support the White Hall Food Pantry. The drive encouraged attendees to donate food items for those in need. The joyous event featured many fun activities such as a raffle giveaway, free sandwiches, a bounce house for children, and music. Last year's event was a great success, with community residents donating six truckloads of non-perishable food items.
Pan American Bank & Trust has been selected by the nationally renowned industry publication, American Banker, as one of the Best Banks To Work For in 2018 nationwide. "Being selected is a tribute to the strength of our culture, including our commitment to each other, our clients and our communities," stated Frank C. Cerrone, President & CEO of Pan American Bank & Trust. CDBA members FNBC Bank, BankPlus, and Community Bank also make the list.
Urban Partnership Bank recently announced that they have reached an agreement to merge with Providence Bank & Trust, a $628 MM assets bank with 12 locations throughout the Chicagoland area and Northwest Indiana, pending regulatory approval. Urban Partnership Bank was originally founded in 2010 to take over the Shore Bank franchise.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is currently asking the public for input regarding how banks should be graded on their lending to communities in need. The answers they receive will ultimately help inform the upcoming revamped Community Reinvestment Act policy. While most agree that the 40-year old law needs updating, opinion differs in the various approaches to how.
Several groups across the country are identifying special niches in which to operate de novo banks. Before the financial crisis, many de novos were built to grow and eventually sell. Now, that model is changing towards permanence. Becoming well known in a niche could be a way for new banks to add value and stand out in a competitive market. In this effort, these groups are striving to create banks for niche communities such as veterans and minorities.
Interested in learning about the inner workings of the CDFI Fund? Watch the live broadcast of the CDFI Fund Advisory Board Meeting from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM on Thursday, August 23rd. Broadcast can be found at this link.
It is Metro Bank's mission to stimulate economic growth within the distressed neighborhoods of Louisville, KY. For the past 21 years, the Bank has fulfilled this commitment by performing over 60% of its activity in these distressed neighborhoods. Now, to further show its drive for positive impact, Metro Bank is expanding its target market to include additional low-income communities and other underserved populations in all of Jefferson County.