Recent News
CDBA member Virginia Community Capital seeks a community programs and impact manager to oversee the implementation, management and supervision of the bank’s advisory services and community programs. This position works to identify, build and implement programs to support VCC’s mission based lending. Among other duties, this person also manages research projects evaluating VCC’s community impact.
National Community Investment Fund (NCIF) has opened registration for the 2015 NCIF Development Banking Conference to be held November 19 and 20 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference will bring together representatives of mission based banks, involved regulators and interested investors. The topic of this year's conference is "The Impact We Make" and will revolve around defining the future of the mission-oriented banking industry, reimagining business models, social impact metrics and innovative strategies for success. Register for the conference... Read more
Housing mobility, the idea of moving poor families into wealthier neighborhoods where they have access to better schools and services, has been gaining traction in recent weeks. The Supreme Court upheld a decision that forced the state of Texas to shift the construction of affordable housing to areas where little such housing exists. President Obama released a new rule for the way HUD distributes housing money, requiring regions to more carefully integrate their housing stock. But housing integration has downsides. Building new affordable housing in wealthy areas takes investment away from... Read more
A federal judge has overturned a New York City law that required banks to disclose their investments in local communities. The law was designed to pressure banks by asking for data relating to small-business lending, efforts to prevent foreclosures, affordable housing lending and branches in low-income communities – requirements that went beyond the Community Reinvestment Act. The law applied to 21 banks eligible to hold the city’s municipal deposits. The New York City Banking Commission considered the information when deciding where to park deposits, incenting banks to invest more in... Read more
The CDFI Fund will co-host a webinar discussing how CDFIs can engage in the emerging field of Pay for Success programs on August 13, 2015 at 4:00 PM EST. Pay for Success programs aim to address social issues such as homelessness, recidivism and educational disparities. Through the Pay for Success platform, private investors such as CDFIs, commercial investors or individuals pay up-front for social services. The government pays investors a return if and only if these services deliver their intended results. Advance registration for the webinar must be completed by August 11. Register for... Read more
New York City's Carver Federal Savings Bank highlighted its efforts to expand wealth enhancement opportunities in low income communities in its 2014 Annual Report. Carver is the largest African-American bank in the country. The bank expanded lending in 2014, with an overall 5% growth in loans to $410 million. Carver has helped create 2,597 jobs using $149 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocations. The bank has focused on providing financial services to those who need it most with 90% of loan originators within Carver’s assessment area and a $3.34 million lending total... Read more
A CFPB report finds that consumers who closed their mortgage using electronic platforms (eClosing) not only found the electronic process more efficient, but also were better educated about their mortgages than borrowers who used paper forms. The report shows that the electronic tools accessible in the eClosing process have the potential to educate consumers and give them more time to review their documents, resulting in increased comprehension of the mortgage product. The report found that eClosing had a particular advantage over paper forms in providing early document review and... Read more
Finance and Thrift Company of Porterville, California and fellow CDFI bank Pan American Bank of Los Angeles have announced the completion of their merger in an all stock transaction. The combined entity will operate under the Pan American name and be headquartered in Los Angeles. The merger will create a bank with total assets of $155.2 million and total capital of $36.9 million. The bank will maintain a fully bilingual staff and operate six branch offices in Southern California. “The new Pan American Bank reflects our continued commitment to building value for our... Read more
Technology could address the economic exclusion experienced by many disabled Americans, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said at a recent meeting of the National Disability Institute. Gruenberg cited a 2013 FDIC Survey that found one in five unbanked or underbanked households is headed by an individual with disabilities. Half of these households rely on alternative financial services. Gruenberg emphasized the importance of providing banking services to households headed by disabled consumers and encouraged bankers to explore technological solutions for disabled consumers such mobile banking... Read more
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), may hold up President Obama’s nominees for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors over the president’s lack of action in nominating a vice chairman of supervision to the Fed. The vice chairman’s role is to ensure accountability of the central bank’s oversight of the largest financial firms. But the position has stood empty for five years and Hill Republicans say the vacancy prevents Congress from exercising oversight of the Fed. The two Federal Reserve Board of Governors nominees awaiting confirmation are University of Michigan... Read more
A bill passed by the Senate last week proposes to reduce bank dividends from the Federal Reserve in order to fund U.S. highways. The plan, which will require House approval before taking effect, finances interstates in part by cutting the Federal Reserve dividend paid to banks with more than $1 billion in assets from 6 percent to 1.5 percent. The bill also provides a six-year outline for spending on roads, bridges and mass transit projects and renews the Export-Import Bank. The Senate Bill faces opposition from the banking sector for its changes to Fed dividends and from Republicans who... Read more
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its key interest rate near zero but signaled it remains on course to raise interest rates in September or later this year, citing progress in the U.S. job market. The Fed said that, although the labor market had improved, there is lingering concern about low inflation. Central to the Fed’s thinking is how it perceives its progress in achieving its “dual mandate” of maximum employment and inflation near 2 percent. The Fed has said it will raise rates when it has seen improvement in the job market and becomes “reasonably confident” inflation is on course... Read more
United Bank has announced the creation of a $12 million loan pool designed to encourage economic development across Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The pool is designed to assist companies with growth and expansion with loans that range from $250,000 to more than $3 million. Using capital created from New Market Tax Credits, borrowers receive up to 25 percent of their funds at zero interest as an economic development incentive. Transactions involving New Market Tax Credits often are not practical for projects less than $5 million, but the loan pool allows United Bank to... Read more
Washington, D.C.-based Industrial Bank has released its 2014 annual report, marking the bank's 80th year in operation. In 2014, Industrial Bank's commercial and commercial real estate loans increased by 8.5% to an all-time record of $256 million. The bank expanded its support for local businesses as an SBA Preferred Lender status and held a conference for businesses pursuing government contracts. The bank also became involved in insurance by initiating a new partnership with New York Life Insurance Company to provide estate planning services to customers. Industrial Bank... Read more
CapNexus, an online community development finance matching system, is helping CDFI banks make their Bank Enterprise Awards (BEA) applications more competitive. The BEA Program rewards banks that support community development -- in part by giving the highest funding priority for banks' CDFI support activities, including placing deposits in CDFI-certified credit unions. The new service, created in partnership with CDBA and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, automatically matches banks seeking to place deposits with CDFI credit unions looking for deposits. Sign up... Read more
City First Bank of D.C.'s 2014 Annual Report details the bank's continued growth and success in taking advantage of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. The bank received its sixth NMTC Program allocation in the amount of $48 million. Among the projects City First has financed using the program is the DC Prep Public Charter School, which was able to renovate and expand one of its campuses in a low-income section of Washington, D.C. The project created 211 additional seats, boosting the total student population to 711, 90% of whom are low income students who qualify... Read more
A GAO report finds that new qualified mortgage (QM) and qualified residential mortgage (QRM) regulations are unlikely to fundamentally alter lending because most loans originated in recent years largely conformed with QM criteria. The QM regulations, which address lenders’ responsibilities to determine a borrower’s ability to repay a loan, set forth standards that include prohibitions on risky loan features and limits on points and fees. GAO predicts limited effects on the availability of mortgages for most borrowers and that any cost increases for borrowers, lenders and investors would... Read more
The Small Business Administration's flagship 7(a) lending program is likely to resume operating this week after briefly putting new guarantees on hold. Record demand had pushed the program to its $18.75 billion funding limit before both chambers of Congress voted to add nearly $5 billion in additional funding authority. The weeklong shutdown could underscore the program's bipartisan support — or give its critics more ammunition to argue that it is too vulnerable to politics. Under 7(a), the SBA provides guarantees of up to 85% on small-business commercial loans. This year is looking to be... Read more
In an interview with Ebony Magazine, OneUnited Bank President Terri Williams discusses the importance of Black banks in their communities and her bank's innovative outreach strategy: "This is not my bank. It’s our community’s bank. My goal is to ensure OneUnited Bank changes the nature of urban banking. We strive to offer banking services and promote financial literacy in our unique way... When our customers walk into OneUnited, they feel like they’re home. Yet we have the same online banking, mobile banking, bill pay and funds transfer services that large banks offer, and... Read more
The FY2016 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill cuts funding for the CDFI Fund by $9.5 million from FY 2015 levels to $221 million. Following dedicated outreach from CDBA members, the bill includes $21 million for the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program – an increase from $18 million in 2015. The bill also increases funding for the FA Program to $161.9 million, up $9.5 million from FY2015. Native Initiatives remain stable at $15... Read more