This Just In...OCC's Districts
Report on Investment Opportunities for Banks

Northeastern District

John Farrell (617) 482-1643
Denise Kirk-Murray (212) 790-4053

Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service

The Banking on Communities initiative enables social investors, including banks, corporations and nonprofits, to provide capital to communities that have traditionally had difficulty accessing capital. The Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA) and the Promontory Interfinancial Network have partnered to develop the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) as a way for financial institutions to serve their customers and meet institutional funding needs. CDBA has joined Promontory because CDARS can channel capital to underserved communities by acting as a deposit placement engine. CDARS allows banks and thrifts to place their customers’ funds in certificates of deposit issued by other FDIC-insured institutions in amounts that do not exceed the $100,000 insurance limit. In return, each participating bank or thrift receives an equal amount of deposit funds, through CDARS, from other bank or thrift customers.

Financial institutions can request that CDARS deposit funds in participating banks that specialize in lending in low-income communities (in community development banks that are CDFI certified by the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund). These directed deposits may earn CRA credit for the investing bank. CDARS investors may receive up to $5 million in federal deposit insurance coverage when depositing funds using CDARS. For further information, contact Promontory Interfinancial Network at (866) 776-6426; www.promnetwork.com.

New Markets Tax Credits in Massachusetts

Banks serving the eastern Massachusetts marketplace have a new opportunity to invest in community development projects. Affirmative New Markets LLC (ANMLLC) of Boston was recently awarded $12 million in tax credits by the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund. Those credits will now be available to private investors seeking to support the organization’s community development objectives. ANMLLC will use investors’ funds to finance and develop office space for organizations providing community services to low- and moderate-income residents of Falmouth and Boston. The tax credit subsidy will reduce the project’s commercial rental rates, allowing the service providers to remain in the same communities as the populations they serve. For more information, contact David Ennius of Affirmative New Markets LLC at (617) 387-4300.

Return to the top of the page.

Central District

Paul Ginger (312) 360-8876
Norma Polanco (216) 447-8866

Mexicantown Community Development Corporation (MCDC)

MCDC of Detroit, Mich., is on the verge of completing a unique cultural destination. MCDC is working to establish dozens of new restaurants and small businesses to attract tourists and create approximately 195 new jobs. The “Mexicantown International Welcome Center and Mercado” is located in the heart of this Detroit community’s commercial strip and will serve as a gateway from Canada into Detroit. The center will provide information and facilities for travelers crossing the border from Canada and will serve as a venue for artistic performances and art exhibits. It will be a catalyst for small business development. One million people are expected to visit the $14 million center annually. MCDC is seeking $825,000 in contributions to meet the capital campaign goal to complete the Center. Capital contributions may be considered for CRA Investment Test credit for banks servicing the Detroit market. Contact: Maria Elena Rodriguez, (313) 967-9898, www.mexicantown.org.

South Dakota Rural Enterprise, Inc. (SDREI)

SDREI is a nonprofit certified community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides loans, training, and management assistance to community development financial institutions, revolving loan funds (RLF), and other economic development organizations. Through the $5.3 million Capital Investment Fund (CIF), SDREI makes loans to micro-lenders and other local economic development loan funds. Loans from CIF can be used to match funding from state and federal agencies and finance a wide range of business types and loan purposes. Since 1999, the SDREI CIF has lent approximately $3.9 million to local loan funds by using capital invested by community hospitals, community foundations, utility companies, banks, and other corporations. SDREI is now developing the South Dakota Community Capital Fund, an arrangement with the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) of Minnesota. Under the arrangement, CRF will purchase from SDREI small business loans originated by South Dakota CDFIs and RLFs. Banks can: 1) invest in the funds through which SDREI makes its loans to CDFIs and RLFs, 2) make loans in conjunction with local CDFIs and RLFs, and 3) provide grant funding to SDREI and its nonprofit borrowers. Contact Beth E. Davis, President, 605-978-2804; info@sdrei.org; www.sdrei.org.

Return to the top of the page.

Southern District

Karol Klim (678) 731-9723 x252
David Lewis (214) 720-7027

Fort Worth Central Community Development Corporation

Fort Worth Central, a newly-formed multi-bank community development corporation (CDC), allows banks to lend and invest in markets that are often difficult to efficiently or effectively reach. The CDC will offer low-cost loans to the city’s homebuyers with annual gross incomes of 50-to-80 percent of the area median income. Local nonprofit housing development organizations will work with the City of Fort Worth to deliver homeowner training and education. The initial loan products offered by the CDC include home improvement loans, renovation/refinance loans, and purchase/rehabilitation loans. The organization’s business plan describes a five-year $15 million equity investment goal in a loan fund that is enhanced by the City of Fort Worth’s commitment to loan guarantees and subsidies. For more information, contact Karen Meunier with the City of Fort Worth Housing Department at (817) 392-8091; karen.meunier@fortworthgov.org.

CRA Qualified Investment Fund

The CRA Qualified Fund was created to assist financial institutions in satisfying the Investment Test of the Community Reinvestment Act. The fund invests primarily in fixed income securities that finance affordable housing, job-creation opportunities, and economic development. Investors can define the areas they would like their money to support. Shareholders are provided documentation detailing each investment made on their behalf. Since its inception in August 1999, the fund has invested approximately $700 million in community development activities that have helped generate more than 60,000 affordable rental-housing units and 2,000 homes for low- and moderate-income families as well as $60 million in economic development activities. Since the fund’s inception through March 31, 2004, it has generated an average annualized return of 6.82 percent. For more information, contact Barbara Rose VanScoy at (877) 272-1977; bvanscoy@crafund.com; www.crafund.com.

Return to the top of the page.

Western District

Susan Howard   (818) 240-5175
Dave Miller (720) 475-7670

Iowa Low-Income Housing Tax Credits

The Iowa Equity Fund (IEF) is a limited liability company that was formed in 2001 to promote the development and sustainability of affordable housing through the use of the federal low-income housing tax credit program. The formation of IEF resulted from the cooperative efforts of Iowa affordable housing developers and financial assistance grants from the Iowa Finance Authority and commercial banks. In addition to underwriting investments in the federal low-income housing tax credit program, IEF staff provides technical assistance to developers, owners, and management companies on the development and management of tax credit properties. IEF will syndicate and assist in all types and sizes of affordable housing properties with emphasis on rural, difficult to develop areas, and service intensive properties, such as rent-to-own and transitional housing. Every 12-to-18 months IEF will sponsor an investment fund or syndicate tax credit developments throughout Iowa. The investment funds seek corporate investors that are traditionally Iowa-based companies. For more information, contact the Iowa Equity Fund at (515) 280-6000; www.mheginc.com/IEF/iefwhat.htm.

San Diego Capital Collaborative

The nonprofit San Diego Capital Collaborative (SDCC) is an equity capital investment fund that facilitates public and private investment in low- and moderate-income areas of San Diego City and County. Investments will receive funding from partnerships between banks, insurance companies, and pension funds. The organization has a board of directors that includes representatives from San Diego’s corporate and community development communities who have experience in urban revitalization and development. The SDCC’s first investment opportunity is a for-profit Smart Growth Fund (SGF) intended to raise $60 million. The fund is intended to provide multifamily and single family housing in low- and moderate-income areas. SGF is scheduled to close in late 2004 with full funding from private sector capital. Those interested in the fund may obtain more information by contacting Barry Shultz at (619) 985-1720; Shultz@capitalcollaborative.com; www.capitalcollaborative.com.

Return to the top of the page.