Recent News
A new collaboration between City National Bank of New Jersey, Clearshift and East Coast Capital Holdings aims to facilitate currency exchange with lower fees. The new platform relies on the millions of currency changes that occur on a daily basis in opposite directions. One company may need to exchange euros for dollars, while another company needs to exchange dollars for euros. The platform allows these exchanges to be done, to the greatest extent possible, as a P2P exchange. Clearshift makes up the difference in cases where an exact match can’t be found. As an additional... Read more
Teri Williams, president and chief operating officer of OneUnited Bank, appears in the new film "Black Friday: What Legacy Will You Leave?" produced by Ric Mathis of Mathis Multimedia Group. The goal of the film is to enhance the perception of the financial services industry within urban communities. The film covers a range of topics affecting the finances of Black communities, including challenges accessing financial literacy training, low savings and the absence of support for African-American owned businesses. “I’m honored to be a part of this film and thrilled that... Read more
Bronx-based Spring Bank is expanding unbanked customers’ access to banking with a variety of innovative services. The bank’s signature consumer loan program, Borrow and Save, encourages savings by placing 25% of the loan amount into a savings account. The bank also partners with nonprofit employers on its Employee Opportunity Loan Program, which provides loans as an employee benefit. Now, Spring Bank has formed a partnership with financial self-assessment tool Happy Mango to develop an online lending platform that offers an alternative to traditional credit ratings. The... Read more
A new online payment platform from City National Bank of New Jersey aims to disrupt the foreign currency payment space. Using the platform, businesses will be able to easily pay foreign counterparties in virtually any currency with transparent and low-cost fees. The platform will also be made available as a white-label solution for other community banks. The service is being developed under a partnership with international financial services company Clearshift Group and specialized small business investment company East Coast Capital Holdings. "This venture is an example... Read more
The New York State CDFI Coalition, a group that includes New York City-based Spring Bank, is renewing its push for a state-level version of the CDFI Fund. Their advocacy started in the mid-2000’s and succeeded in establishing the New York State CDFI Fund. But the agency has never received any actual funding, the victim of a perfect storm that included Governor Eliot Spitzer’s resignation and the 2009 financial crisis. A state fund would not only expand award coverage for the state’s CDFIs -- it would also provide match funding for federal CDFI Fund award applications. The... Read more
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has terminated its order to cease and desist on L.A.-based Broadway Financial Corporation, parent company of Broadway Federal Bank, F.S.B. Broadway has operated under the order since 2010. The OCC had lifted its own consent order from the bank in November 2015. CEO Wayne Bradshaw commented, “This decision by the FRB, along with the OCC’s decision in November, officially [recognizes] that Broadway has re-established its position as a safe and sound financial institution. In addition, these decisions tacitly acknowledge the success... Read more
The President has released his FY 2017 budget, proposing a total of $245.9 MM in CDFI Fund appropriations. That would represent a $12 million increase over the fund’s FY 2016 appropriations. Significantly, the budget proposes $19 million in funding for the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program, marking the first time in many years the president’s budget has not proposed eliminating the program. The budget also includes a new program aimed at promoting responsible small dollar loan products. The new... Read more
Sunrise Banks has received the Best Cause Advocacy/Awareness award in the 2015 PR Daily Corporate Social Responsibility awards. The award is in recognition of a brand journalism campaign that Sunrise created to promote the work of local nonprofit, Newgate School. Newgate is a nonprofit, tuition-free automotive technical school located in the Twin Cities. They offer autobody and auto mechanics training for unemployed or under-employed adults. Sunrise worked with Twelve-Plus media to create a short video highlighting Newgate’s mission and history that was launched alongside... Read more
David Reiling, social entrepreneur and CEO of St. Paul based Sunrise Banks was recently named as one of the Trust Across America-Trust Around the World Top Thought Leaders for 2016. The awards program celebrates professionals who are transforming the way organizations do business. This is Reiling’s third consecutive year being named to the list. “[This year's honorees] inspire organizations to look more closely at their higher purpose...to create greater value for, and trust from all of their stakeholders, and understand trust is a ‘hard currency’ with real returns,” said... Read more
Boston, Mass.-based OneUnited Bank and the African American Film Critics Association are hosting their second annual “Money On My Mind: The Film & TV Industry” event. The event is part of an effort to reach out to Hollywood’s’ black community and encourage long-term wealth building by examining the multitude of opportunities behind the camera and behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. The event will feature discussions by some of Hollywood’s most powerful black TV and Film players. “OneUnited Bank is honored to partner with AAFCA on this annual event to... Read more
Seaway Bank & Trust has filed a lawsuit against Urban Partnership Bank alleging wrongdoing over a mortgage portfolio of more than 1,500 home mortgages with a face value of $154 million. The dispute started late last year when Urban Partnership sold more than 1,500 mortgages originated by its predecessor, ShoreBank, to Seaway. The deal unraveled and Seaway now claims Urban Partnership won’t return a security deposit of several million dollars. At issue was how quickly Urban Partnership wanted Seaway to assume the loans. Seaway said that its bid specified a 120-day... Read more
The CDFI Fund is tentatively planning to release the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and applications for the FY 2016 CDFI Program FA and TA and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program) in mid- to late February 2016. The CDFI Fund also announced it will conduct application workshops across the country to help applicants better understand the programs and the application process. Workshops are tentatively scheduled for Feb. 24, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minn. at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; March 8, 2016 in Washington, D.C. at the CDFI Fund’s headquarters; and March... Read more
Beneficial State Bank has launched a new impact website to spread the word about the positive effect they’re having on their communities. The bank unveiled the new site at the same time as it appointed its first Chief Impact Officer, Erin Kilmer Neel, who will lead the bank’s impact department. The impact department fosters a beneficial ecosystem that includes collaborating with other banks, engaging with community members, informing and assisting businesses, and cultivating a new sustainable economy. “The launch of the Impact Website collects in one location reporting on... Read more
The CDFI Fund has released application demand for the 2015 New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC program). The CDFI Fund received a total of 238 applications requesting an aggregate total of $17.6 billion in NMTC allocation authority, five times the $3.5 billion in authority available for the 2015 round. The applicants are headquartered in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. The NMTC Program encourages economic development in low-income and distressed communities by making tax credits available to Community Development Entities (CDEs) for targeted investments in... Read more
Applications are now open for The Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance. The awards are designed to promote CDFIs in their efforts to provide underserved communities with affordable and responsible products. The NEXT Opportunity Awards, a total of $7 million, will be awarded to up to four high capacity CDFIs ready to implement their strategy within 6 months of receiving an award. The NEXT Seed Capital Award will offer a $100,000 grant to one CDFI... Read more
City First Bank of D.C. has several open positions:
Director of Bank Operations
The director of bank operations is responsible for branch administration, deposit operations, electronic banking and product development. This executive determines the optimal set of products, services and platforms to move the bank forward while simultaneously supporting the implementation of the bank’s strategic initiatives.
... Read more
Cross Keys Bank has announced that Chief Credit Officer Shane Bridges has been appointed as the bank’s new president. With this appointment, the position of CEO and President has been separated. Michael Vizard, who served as President and CEO from 2005-2015, will continue as CEO and as the newly elected Chairman of the Board. Vizard was also named vice chairman of the bank’s holding company, BSJ Bancshares, Inc. Rebecca Vizard has been elected chairman of the holding company and Ben Watson will serve as its president. “With more than 24 years in banking and 14 of those... Read more
First Southwest Bank has established the First Southwest Community Fund, a new initiative to support community-based projects by leveraging public and private funding. The fund will help create jobs, encourage development of vital infrastructure and provide new educational opportunities for at-risk populations in distressed areas. The fund seeks economic development projects such as health and childcare facilities, housing developments, grocery stores, healthy food programs, high-speed internet access, libraries, levies and more. "Initially, the First Southwest Community... Read more
The CFPB is now accepting applications for membership on its Consumer Advisory Board and two other advisory groups, the Community Bank Advisory Council and the Credit Union Advisory Council. The purpose of these groups is to inform the CFPB of the needs of small financial institutions and to provide the bureau with information about emerging trends and practices in the consumer financial products and services industries. CDFI bank leaders and other experts in the fields of consumer protection, community development, consumer finance, fair lending and... Read more
Beneficial State Bank and Pan American Bank have announced an acquisition agreement under which Beneficial State will acquire all outstanding shares of Pan American Bank. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and approval by shareholders of Pan American and Beneficial State, is expected to close mid-2016. The combined entity will operate as Beneficial State Bank. Pan American’s current Chief Executive Officer Robert Hughes will serve as President of the consumer lending unit. The combined entity will have assets of $580 million and... Read more