The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is a proven successful public-private partnership model for maximizing impact while minimizing government expense, two organizations representing bank and credit union state regulators said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
President Trump last week issued an executive order directing the CDFI Fund and other government programs to reduce their staffing and operations to the minimum level needed to carry out their statutory obligations. Bessent has since said the administration recognizes the important role of the fund, and the American Bankers Association and other groups have stated their support for it. In their letter, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors shared their concerns about the executive order’s potential effects on the fund.
“CDFIs are successful in providing funding that otherwise might not exist and creating durable economic activity in the areas that need it most,” the two groups said. “With bipartisan federal support, CDFIs provide critical funding in a way that serves as a model for public-private partnership. By one estimate, every dollar injected into a CDFI generates eight dollars in private-sector investment.”
CSBS and NASCUS also noted that the CDFI Fund is fully authorized in statute. “Further, its appropriated programs were reauthorized on March 14, 2025,” they said.
