CDFI Fund Announces $17 Million for Lending and Investments in Low-Income and Distressed Communities

Washington, DC Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced awards totaling approximately $17 million to 85 FDIC-insured depository institutions for serving economically distressed communities across the nation. The awards are being made through the fiscal year (FY) 2013 round of the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program). The activities that qualify these institutions for BEA Program awards occur in census tracts where at least 30 percent of the population lives at or below the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is 1.5 times above the national average.

Collectively, during the one-year assessment period, these 85 depository institutions increased their loans and investments in distressed communities by $417.3 million; increased their loans, deposits, and technical assistance to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) by $48.4 million; increased their equity and equity-like loans and grants to CDFIs by $6.1 million; and increased the provision of financial services in distressed communities by $10.3 million.

"The fiscal year 2013 BEA Program awards will allow these depository institutions to expand financial support for CDFIs and low-income communities to encourage community and economic development across the country," said CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell. "As past awardees have demonstrated, these organizations will invest their awards back into distressed communities, supporting small businesses, affordable housing, and essential financial services."

BEA Program awardees are required to invest their awards in eligible activities in distressed communities. Most recently, the FY 2011 awardees reported back to the CDFI Fund that, collectively, 38.5 percent of their award dollars were invested in affordable housing projects; 26 percent were invested in small business loans; and 24 percent of the FY 2011 awards were invested in commercial real estate projects-with the remainder of that year's awards being used for CDFI grants and loans and financial and community services. The $17 million awarded under the FY 2013 round of the BEA Program today will also be invested back into distressed communities and CDFIs.

The FY 2013 BEA Program awardees were selected after a comprehensive review of 98 applications received by the CDFI Fund from depository institutions across the nation that requested more than $91 million in funding under the FY 2013 round. The number of applicants in the FY 2013 BEA Program round represents an increase of 38 percent over the prior year, and is the largest number of BEA Program applicants since FY 2002.

About the BEA Program

The Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program) rewards FDIC-insured depository institutions for making investments in the most distressed communities in the country. In order to receive an award, depository institutions must successfully demonstrate an increase in investment in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), or in their own lending, investing, or service-related activities in census tracts where at least 30 percent of the population lives at or below the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is 1.5 times above the national average. The BEA Program awards also help depository institutions offset some of their risk and meet capital ratio requirements. Depository institutions that receive a BEA Program award are required to invest their awards in eligible activities in distressed communities. Since its inception in 1994, the BEA Program has awarded grants totaling over $393 million.

For more information about the BEA Program, please view the Fact Sheet or visit the CDFI Fund's website at www.cdfifund.gov/bea.

About the CDFI Fund

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) was created to promote economic and community development by empowering America's underserved and distressed communities. As part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the CDFI Fund fosters the creation and increases the capacity of community-based financial intuitions through investments and assistance. Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $1.8 billion to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) around the country. By increasing funding to CDFIs that specialize in providing affordable credit, the CDFI Fund helps build businesses, create jobs, and revitalize neighborhoods.

For more information about the CDFI Fund, please view the Fact Sheet or visit the CDFI Fund's website at www.cdfifund.gov.

2013 BEA Program Award Resources

More Information
Award Book: View the complete 2013 BEA Program Award Book
Award List: Alphabetical by Organization
Award List: Alphabetical by State
Award Highlights: Learn key facts and statistics about the full group of awardees
Searchable Award Database: View the profiles of individual awardees

For more information on the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit www.cdfifund.gov.