The American Bankers Association this week joined the Community Development Bankers Association, National Bankers Association and two other associations in urging members of the House and Senate appropriations committees to fund the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund for fiscal year 2025. Specifically, the groups asked lawmakers to support $341 million for the CDFI Fund, including a $40 million allocation for the Bank Enterprise Award program.
“The $341 million request in CDFI funding is modest relative to the size and scope of the CDFI industry,” the associations said. “According to the Federal Reserve Board of New York, as of [first quarter] 2023, 1,487 CDFIs collectively held approximately $452 billion in total assets. These monies are critically important: The $341 million will leverage up to 12 times its initial value in private capital and be channeled to local businesses, nonprofits and others to help vulnerable communities.”
MDI, CDFI network to receive climate solutions funding
The Biden administration this week announced that it awarded $940 million to Justice Climate Fund—a national network of financial institutions and advocacy organizations—to provide clean energy-focused capital and capacity building to community lenders across the U.S. The Community Development Bankers Association, along with the National Bankers Association and other network partners, will serve as the CDFI bank hub in coordinating the grants, the association announced in a statement. The award was part of a package of $20 billion in funding for climate solutions projects that was created by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
