Recent News
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta board of directors has elected Brian Argrett as its new District of Columbia member director. Mr. Argrett has served as president, chief executive officer, and director of City First Bank of D.C. since 2011. He also serves as chairman of the boards of directors for City First Enterprises and City First Foundation. Mr. Argrett currently serves as presidential appointee to the Community Development Advisory Board, chairman of the CDBA and director of the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership. “FHLBank Atlanta has been a reliable source of... Read more
A recent GAO report assesses the status of the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI). Created in 2010, CDCI is a TARP program intended to help mitigate the effects of the financial crisis on underserved communities. As of March 31, 2016, the Department of the Treasury had 76 percent of the original CDCI investment outstanding and 57 institutions remained. Many of the remaining institutions are financially healthy and likely will be able to repay the investment before dividend and interest rates increase in 2018. In some cases, however, the increase will likely force institutions... Read more
Partners for the Common Good (PCG) has released a new version of its CapNexus deal matching platform. CapNexus facilitates effective business relationships between capital seekers and capital providers by acting as a clearinghouse for ideas, experts and services. The new platform features an updated interface, refined search functionality and new promotional opportunities. It is free to sign up for CapNexus and start posting opportunity and deals. For more information about CapNexus membership, to request a demo or to learn more about promotional opportunities, please contact Carla... Read more
San Diego start-up Employee Loan Solutions is working with St. Paul-based Sunrise Banks to help workers who live paycheck to paycheck take out small-dollar loans. Their TrueConnect program offers short-term loans — ones that carry a high interest rate but are still cheaper than typical payday loans. Sunrise Banks was the first company to offer TrueConnect loans to its own employees. It conducted a yearlong trial starting in late 2013 at the request of federal bank regulators, who then approved the program. "Like any employer, we think we pay our employees well, so why... Read more
CDFI Bank Quontic Bank in New York has begun originating "Lite Doc" loans that feature streamlined income documentation requirements. But the new product also has stringent down-payment and credit score requirements, unlike no-doc, low-doc and stated-income mortgages from the early 2000s. The mortgages take advantage of Quontic’s CDFI status, which exempts the bank from the ability to repay and qualified mortgage rules. The exemptions were put in place to allow CDFIs to continue existing loan programs directed at underserved communities that might not meet the new, more stringent standards... Read more
Thanks to a Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and RiverHills Bank, Port Gibson, Miss. Resident Julia James was able to repair her roof and restore the foundation of her 80-year-old home. For years, James watched water drip through the ceiling of her bedroom and fill up the buckets she put out to catch the rain. James, who is on a fixed income, could not afford the critical home repairs on her own. In February 2016, she received a SNAP grant totaling $4,935. RiverHills Bank Senior Vice President David Blackledge... Read more
CDBA member Beneficial State Bank seeks a social media and digital content manager to build and manage the foundation's social media profiles and presence in close collaboration with the bank’s marketing team. The content manager is expected to write smart, effective, emotionally compelling content for various media.
On Saturday June 4th more than 20 Pan American Bank employees participated in NeighborWorks Day 2016. Pan American Bank team members joined with the residents of the 900 block of N. Drake Avenue in West Humboldt Park to beautify the neighborhood through rehabbing, home repairs, painting and landscaping projects.
The event is hosted annually by Neighborhood Housing Services, an organization dedicated to its mission of encouraging homeownership, assisting with home improvements and increasing energy-efficiency as well as affordability.
“Through NeighborWorks... Read more
CDBA member City National Bank of New Jersey has several open positions.
Impact and CRA Officer
The impact and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) officer delivers, manages and reports on the bank’s social impact strategy and CRA compliance. This role is responsible for developing and implementing the bank’s impact strategy by managing all aspects of impact tracking and reporting to internal and external constituents including investors.
... Read moreSunrise Banks is sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity house via their #WelcomeHome project. Sunrise is the first Twin Cities company of its size ever to sponsor their own house. Working with donors and sponsors, the bank hopes to raise $75,000 for the house and recruit volunteers to physically build the house. In the past, Sunrise worked on the E-House, a project that allows entrepreneurs and businesses that are too small to sponsor houses individually to participate in a homebuilding project collectively. “Everyone at Sunrise is thrilled to finally get to work on our Habitat... Read more
The Nduom family, a group of Ghanaian-American investors, has invested $9 million into Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan Association, one of the last black-owned banks in Illinois. Brothers Chiefy and Kweku Nduom said the family plans to overhaul the Bronzeville lender, trying to put the bank's close call with failure behind it. Their father, Papa Kwesi Ndoum, is now chairman of the bank. Now that Illinois Service is better capitalized, it plans to focus on its technology, loan portfolio and to reconnecting with its neighborhood. Illinois Service, which remains... Read more
Beneficial State Bank has announced the completion of its merger with Pan American Bank. The combined entity will operate as Beneficial State Bank. Robert Hughes, former CEO of Pan Am, will be a director at Beneficial State and president of a new consumer banking unit upon completion of the merger. “Our goal is to balance organic growth and mission-aligned mergers in order to be resilient under modern bank economics while we serve our communities more deeply," said Beneficial State co-CEO Dan Skaff. “The merger with Pan Am is an important step in... Read more
Black banks need to embrace technology to remain relevant in the 21st century, says OneUnited Bank COO Teri Williams in a new interview. “There has been a decline in banks in general. There also has been a decline in community banks that were the size of a lot of the Black banks that went out of business... Part of what we realized is there were a lot of Black banks with a great mission, but they didn’t have the economies of scale to invest in new technology... and we acquired four banks and combined them into one.OneUnited is attracting black customers from across the... Read more
The CDFI Fund is calling for interested CDFIs to submit ideas for the FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition. The FY 2016 CDFI Prize Competition aims to recognize and promote innovative ideas that remove barriers to accessing capital in rural areas, especially areas of persistent poverty. Both existing solutions and solutions under development are applicable. Up to $1 million is available for awards through the competition. The deadline for competition submissions is July 29, 2016.
Chef and entrepreneur Darryl Burnette is opening a new restaurant in Harlem thanks to a loan from Spring Bank. Burnette had been working as a chef for four years when he decided to pursue his dream of starting his own restaurant. When bigger banks turned him away, he was referred to Spring Bank. Spring Bank is a certified CDFI and B-Corporation, which means it makes small loans for both its bottom line and to help the community. Spring Bank's Harlem branch approved a $60,000 loan for Burnette’s restaurant, Belle Harlem. "The biggest challenge was securing the small loan... Read more
Chicago-based Seaway Bank & Trust is initiating a capital-raising campaign that could come at the expense of its status as the largest black-owned bank in the Midwest. The bank has suffered $16 million in total losses over the past five quarters, putting its capital below the minimum needed for the bank to be deemed “adequately capitalized” by regulators. Compounding the losses is the bank's lack of stable leadership. The bank remains without a CEO since the departure in September of Darrell Jackson, who led Seaway for only a year before his exit. Executive Chairman Veranda Dickens has... Read more
City First Bank of D.C.'s spring newsletter highlights efforts to revitalize distressed neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. The newly developed RiverEast affordable housing dwelling will provide 46 new townhouse units affordable for those who cannot afford the city’s skyrocketing prices. Of the 46 units, 43 are for families earning less than $65,000 a year and the remaining three for families with annual incomes below $32,580. City First has also deployed New Markets Tax Credit financing in the area to organizations including charter schools, art programs, housing... Read more
Pan American Bank has awarded a total of $1,600 in college scholarships to high school seniors in Cook County, IL as part of the Community Bankers Association of Illinois Essay Scholarship Program. Pan American Bank selected Yzabelle Tud as the $1,500 first place entry and Marquan Jones as the second place $100 entry. Pan American Bank’s highest scoring entries will now compete in the statewide CBAI scholarship competition that will distribute up to $23,000 in scholarship awards. "Community involvement is our number one priority at Pan American Bank and we are extremely... Read more
Carver Federal Savings Bank Chief Lending Officer Blondel Pinnock and Carver Community Development Corporation President Takisia Whites were recent guests on Marc Clarke’s “In Focus” radio show on 103.9 FM in New York City. Pinnock and Whites highlighted Carver’s approach to working with minority and women-owned business enterprises through its Small Business Mentoring Program. They also discussed Carver’s use of technology, such as the Carver mobile banking app, to reach millennial customers and young entrepreneurs. “Carver’s mission-based approach to banking has been... Read more
Quontic Bank, a CDFI bank in New York City, is offering a new "Lite Doc" mortgage product. Like all CDFIs, Quontic is exempt from the new "ability-to-repay," or ATR, rules established under Dodd-Frank legislation. The new Lite Doc mortgages take advantage of that exemption, requiring only verification of employment and two months’ worth of bank statements. In contrast, most loan applications today require two years of 1040 income tax statements, two years of employment W2s and at least four pay stubs, in addition to bank statements and credit checks. The Lite Doc loans take the form of... Read more