Recent News
Bank of Kilmichael has announced that for the 8th straight quarter they have earned a 5-star Superior rating from Bauer Financial, which measures excellence in areas of capital adequacy, profitability, loan quality, amongst other factors.
The efforts of CDBA Members United Bank of Alabama, BankPlus, and Bank of Montgomery to address the entrenched problems of high rates of unbanked or underbanked individuals in the rural south are highlighted in this recent American Banker article.
Increased oversight and enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) is putting a squeeze on small banks across the country as federal regulators raise the standard for all financial institutions.
Blackfeet tribal community leader Elouise Cobell was recently announced as one of 21 recipients who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Cobell is an advocate for Native American self-determination and financial independence and in this vein was one of the founders of CDBA member Native American Bank.
Balancing the competing demands of social impact and financial returns is a major source of effort for community development practitioners. Researchers from the Omidyar Network recently published an article detailing their impact investment philosophy across a spectrum that extends from fully commercial investments to philanthropic grants.
Beneficial State Bank is paving the way as the first community development financial institution in California's Central Valley and tenth business in the city of Fresno to receive the certification as a California Green Business, demonstrating the bank's commitment to serving as a conduit for economic development and environmental sustainability.
City First Bank of DC is currently seeking an experienced & forward thinking Director of Bank Operations that will be responsible for the oversight of Branch Administration (including branch operations), Deposit Operations, Electronic Banking, and Product Implementation. Please circulate this job to any colleagues or contacts you think would be an excellent fit.
A recent survey from Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. finds there are significant gaps between the way male and female Millennials approach planning and saving for retirement. Millennial men are close to evenly split on whether they are more concerned about being healthy enough or having enough money to enjoy retirement, while Millennial women are overwhelmingly more concerned with financial security once they stop working.
The transition team of President-elect Trump recently issued a statement laying out their intention to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act, therefore proposing regulatory relief for banks. As one of the first announcement out of the recently formed team, it is clear that domestic economic development policies will be at the heart of the new administration's agenda.
Regulatory efforts to expand fintech appear to have a clear bipartisan mandate as analysts discuss the impacts of the 2016 election on the upcoming 115th Congress. As the article states, "The pending Trump administration is also unlikely to derail efforts by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to address fintech, including the possibility of releasing a charter dedicated to fintech firms. The agency is due to make a decision on that by year-end, at which point a proposal would likely be issued."
Annie Donovan, CDFI Fund Director, shares her vision for the future of the CDFI & CDE movement nationwide at the Opportunity Finance Network Conference, a large gathering of CDFI-certified financial institutions held in late October. Watch the video here.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently published a report on the status of the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) and documents related to the Early Repurchase Option. They reported that as of September 30th 2016, 55 of the original 84 financial institutions remain in the program including 24 banks and 35 credit unions. The 10 largest remaining institutions are all banks and account for $286 million (68%) of the outstanding investment while the remaining $134 million (32%) was spread among the rest of the financial institutions.
Urban Partnership Bank is living up to their name by partnering with a broad coalition of organizations to develop the Southwest Corridor Collaborative, a local initiative to spur economic development in a historically disinvested community. This innovative public-private partnership is being greeted with much fanfare across the city of Chicago. As a local resident explains, "I think it's absolutely amazing anytime you have someone bringing money and subsequently jobs into a community. This is what's needed."
Building on the Bank Black movement that started this past summer, UAW-Ford made a record $1.5 Million deposit in First Independence Bank. This deposit is a concrete way for UAW-Ford to publically demonstrate their commitment to investing in the Detroit community and can be held up as a model for other CDFI banks nationwide who are lookign to cultivate local organizations as customers.
Carver Federal Bank's demonstrated their commitment to expanding opportunities for Minority and Women Business Entrepreneurs in New York City during their recent business networking celebration. Honorees included two small business entrepreneurs and Carver customers, Make My Cake and Settepani Restaurant, as well as long-time community economic development advocate, Congressman Charles B. Rangel.
Local community and economic development depends on a combination of public and private funding, however it can be difficult to ascertain the net impact that private dollars are truly having. To address this, the Federal Reserve of Atlanta's Community & Economic Development department created a new tool, Following the Money, which analyzes foundation giving in localities across the country. This article includes a podcast produced by the Atlanta Fed and written transcript of the... Read more
Nichol Beckstrand, President of Sunrise Banks & Holding Company was recently named one of the Smartest People in Payments by PayBefore Magazine. Read more to learn about how embracing innovation and having a tolerance for failure has led to her and the bank's continuing success.
Michael Burris' forward-thinking mentality and focus on strong management, earned him the accolade of Small Bank CFO of the Year Finalist in the Arkansas Business of the Year Awards. Burris' successes include guiding FNBC Bank out of the recession and into their largest asset size yet - just north of $400 million.