249 New Markets Tax Credit Applications Received Requesting $22.5 Billion

Additional $1.5 Billion Added Through American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009

Washington, DC - The U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced today that it received a total of 249 applications under the 2009 round of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. These applicants requested an aggregate total of $22,496,767,600 in NTMC allocation authority. A total of $5 billion of allocation authority is available this round including the $1.5 billion in additional allocation authority authorized through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act).

"I am pleased to see that the New Markets Tax Credit Program continues to be in high demand even with the recent constraints on capital and credit," said CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell. "The equity being raised through the program and the impact of the resulting investments in low-income communities are a testament to the innovative success of the New Markets Tax Credit."

The NMTC Program, established by Congress in December of 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in investment vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. Substantially all of the taxpayer's investment must in turn be used by the CDE to make qualified investments in low-income communities. Successful applicants are selected only after a competitive application and rigorous review process that is administered by the CDFI Fund.

The application deadline was April 8, 2009. The CDFI Fund anticipates announcing the organizations that will receive New Markets Tax Credit allocations in October of 2009.

Through the first six rounds of the NMTC Program, the CDFI Fund has made 364 awards totaling $19.5 billion in tax credit allocation authority.

Additional information can be found on the CDFI Fund's web site at www.cdfifund.gov.