Recent News
The CDFI Fund announced $22.8 million in 2017 Bank Enterprise Award grants to mission-focused banks for their service in high poverty communities. These awards were at risk of being rescinded by the Trump Administration’s proposed $15 billion cutbacks package. The rescission failed to pass by its June 22, 2018 deadline, and the 2017 BEA Awards were subsequently unfrozen and released.
48-year old Kiko Davis is the majority stockholder of Detroit-based First Independence Bank, one of the top 10 largest black-owned banks in the United States. This makes her the only African American woman in the country who owns a bank. Kiko says that taking risks is very important to become successful. “Without risk,” she says. “there can be no reward… Your mistakes will bring invaluable knowledge that will ultimately become your strategy for winning.”
A growing movement has community foundations investing in local financial institutions and development projects, empowering entrepreneurship in the underserved communities that need it most. Organizations like Self-Help or Reinvestment Fund are a part of this effort and began making headway in 1994 with the creation of the CDFI Fund. This spurred much growth in the CDFI field, with over a thousand existing in the country today.
Dominik Mjartan, President and CEO of South Carolina Community Bank. authored an op-ed in American Banker entitled "Dear Congress: Don't Gut Funding for CDFIs." "Bankers and policymakers understand that getting $12 of impact for every one dollar invested is a good return on investment," he wrote. "It’s even better if those dollars result in jobs, housing and wealth-building opportunities in underserved areas."
Fair Financial, a digital platform for the unbanked, recently launched in a pilot program to serve about 500 Twin Cities customers over the next 18 months. Anne Clark, an executive whose nonprofit is overseeing the rollout of Fair Financial, is partnering with several other organizations in the area, including Sunrise Banks. They have estalished a goal of providing 5,000 low-income customers across the country with Fair deposit accounts and small-dollar loans by 2020. What sets Fair apart in the industry is what Clark and others describe as a “bundled” suite of products for the... Read more
Sunrise Banks and Twin Cities-based nonprofit Prepare + Prosper have announced a multiyear plan to provide thousands of low-income families with an alternative to payday lenders and check-cashing operators. The Financial Access in Reach (FAIR) plan is aimed at providing "financially underserved" people with access to a checking, savings and small-loan program at a modest cost. "Collaborating with Prepare + Prosper on the FAIR Initiative is giving people the tools they need to improve their financial wellness," Sunrise CEO David Reiling said in a statement. "We're setting an example... Read more
Thanks to a $224,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from Planters Bank & Trust and FHLB Dallas, a 42-unit apartment community in Greenville, MS is now open. The grant was awarded to the Greater Greenville Housing and Revitalization Association for the construction of the apartment community. The grant provided gap financing for the affordable housing development. The apartment complex, The Reserves of Gray Park, is Greenville's lagest single-unit housing development in over 30 years and serves individuals and families at or below 80% average median income, with 62.5% of the... Read more
This article examines the rising support for public banks that would work directly with community banks and credit unions. Funding infrastructure projects through public banks would bring down costs by reducing interest and debt service payments made toward private institutions.In New York City, for example, dozens of residents and community organizers in early June gathered in front of the New York Stock Exchange to launch the Public Bank NYC Coalition, a group calling for the creation of a New York City-owned bank... Read more
Approval rates for small-business loan applications ticked up at both small and large banks in May. Banks with at least $10 billion of assets approved almost 26% of small-business loans last month, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index. That is almost triple the rate in 2011 and up almost two percentage points from the approval rate a year earlier. The smaller institutions, with less than $10 billion of assets, approved 49.4% of applications, which was up from 48.8% a year ago.
The House Appropriations Committee has approved a FY19 Financial Services spending bill that would provide $216 million to the Community Development Financial Institutions program—a $25 million boost from the amount they proposed earlier this month. The Appropriations Committee approved the bill, 28-20. The $216 million is far short of the $250 million that the CDFI Fund received this year, but it exceeds the Trump Administration's request by some $202 million. The $25 million boost was proposed by Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) who made it clear that this was the first step in ensuring... Read more
Virginia Community Capital received a $200,000 grant over a three-year period from the Thompson Charitable Foundation, as part of a $600,000 total grant package that will be directed at supporting businesses in Southwest Virginia. The grants from the Thompson Charitable Foundation will fund up to 12 small business workshops each year in Buchanan and Tazewell counties, provide free technical advisory services, and host four Small Business Challenges in each county that will award investment grants to existing and startup companies. These regions were deeply affected by coal and... Read more
City First Bank, Sunrise Banks, and Beneficial State Bank are among the Certified B Corporations named as "2018 Best for the World" global honorees. The award recognizes these organizations' positive impact on communities, the economy, their workers, and more. The full B Impact Assessment evaluates a company's environmental performance, employee relationships, diversity, involvement in the local community, and impact of a company's product or service. To become a Best for the World honoree, a company must score in the top 10 percent of Certified BCorps across the category areas of the... Read more
Business First Bancshares, Inc. has announced its planned acquisition of Richland State Bancorp, Inc. If the merger is successful, the subsequent combined institution would be the 4th largest Louisiana-headquartered bank, with total assets of approximately $2 billion. As per the agreement, Richland State's President and CEO, Jerome Vascocu, will join Business First's board of directors.
Virginia Community Capital has released its 2017 Impact Report, highlighting the last twelve months of its innovative lending portfolio. Last year, the bank surpassed a major milestone of creating $1 billion in project impact across the state. The report details VCC's impact to South Richmond's Jeff Davis Highway Corridor, focus on solar-energy investing, and innovative Virginia Fresh Food Loan Fund.
Bank of Montgomery was named 2017 Lender of the Year by USDA Rural Development State Director Dr. Carrie Castille. In 2017, Bank of Montgomery applied for and received four USDA Rural Development Business and Industry Loan Guarantees for a total of $39.25 million. They assisted these four businesses in creating and saving 289 jobs across Louisiana. Bank of Montgomery has assisted a total of 27 guaranteed loan borrowers totaling $156 million since it began participating in the Business and Industry Loan Guarantee Program.
The Urban Institute has released a state-by-state assessment of how successfully governors have targeted Opportunity Zones by need and benefit. The assessment, "Did States Maximize Their Opportunity Zone Selections?", is authored by community development expert Brett Theodos. Analysis shows minimal targeting of the program toward disinvested communities by a measure of investment flows developed by the researchers. Less than a third of the designated Opportunity Zones are in tracts with the lowest levels of investment, while 28% already attract high levels of investment.
Ashoka and BNY Mellon are hosting a Changemaker Challenge–a national social innovation competition–to uncover innovations that expand financial security of underserved communities, empowering everyone to be the drivers of their own financial wellbeing, resilience, and freedom. In a moment when six out of ten Americans will experience financial insecurity, families find themselves struggling to pay rent, afford healthcare, and cover their bills at the end of each month. Financial struggles leave entire communities without the opportunity and agency to plan for their futures and reach their... Read more
Native American Bank has released its annual report, highlighting its financial condition and innovative new partnerships to benefit tribal economies and tribal members. "As we look to the future, having purchased a building in Denver to move our headquarters into, we are laying the groundwork to better serve our constituents, create a unique presence and build on our accomplishments," said CEO Tom Ogaard.
Enterprise, together with Elevate Energy, has released a case study of the Chicago Water-Efficiency Pilot: in 2016, a water-efficiency specialist visited 14 affordable housing properties across the Chicago region, providing recommendations to organizational decision-makers, along with light training and procedural recommendations for maintenance staff. Findings from the pilot suggest that affordable housing providers can benefit greatly from comprehensive water-efficiency improvements, including usage monitoring, leak repair, and upgrades or replacement of inefficient shower heads, toilets... Read more
The recently released Recission Package by the Trump Administration would claw back federal funds previously approved by Congress that promote private investment in low-income communities. The package freezes the release of over $15 billion in funding already appropriated in the FY2017 budget, including $22.8 million in funding for the U.S. Treasury's Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program and $151.3 million for the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF). “The elimination of the BEA Awards would curtail these initiatives, and have a detrimental effect on the economic stability of the regions they serve,”... Read more