ABA today wrote to the heads of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging Congress to continue its support for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The association requested that lawmakers provide funding at the FY2017 level of $250 million and reserve $35 million of that funding for the Bank Enterprise Awards Program.
“Creating jobs and revitalizing the economies of disenfranchised rural communities and neglected cities is a top priority for CDFIs,” ABA said. “Community based financial institutions are uniquely positioned to understand local credit needs, which is why there is historic bipartisan support for the CDFI Fund and the BEA Program.”
The association pointed out that since it was founded 1994, hundreds of banks have participated in CDFI Fund programs, and billions of dollars in new investments benefitting difficult-to-serve communities have been made with funds from the BEA Program.
