U.S. Department of the Treasury: Community Development Financial Institutions Fund – Bank Enterprise Award Program

The Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program) was created in 1994 to support FDIC-insured financial institutions around the country that are dedicated to financing and supporting community and economic development activities. The BEA Program complements the community development activities of insured depository institutions (i.e., banks and thrifts) by providing financial incentives to expand investments in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and to increase lending, investment, and service activities within economically distressed communities. Providing monetary awards for increasing community development activities leverages CDFI Fund dollars and puts more capital to work in distressed communities throughout the nation. Distressed communities are defined as those where at least 30 percent of residents have incomes that are less than the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is at least 1.5 times the national unemployment rate.

The BEA Program provides formula-based grants to applicants for increasing qualified activities from a baseline period to a later assessment period. There are three categories of qualified activities:

• CDFI Related Activities: Equity Investments, Grants, Equity-Like Loans, Loans, Deposits, and/or Technical Assistance provided to certified CDFIs.
• Distressed Community Financing Activities: Direct lending or investment in the form of Affordable Home Loans, Affordable Housing Development Loans or Investments, Home Improvement Loans, Education Loans, Small Business Loans or Investments, Small Dollar Consumer Loans, or Commercial Real Estate Development Loans or Investments provided to residents or businesses located in distressed communities.
• Service Activities: Financial products and services, such as Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Check Cashing, Financial Counseling, Individual Development Accounts, or Youth Savings Accounts provided to residents of distressed communities.

Amount: Up to $18,000,000 is available for funds to not exceed $2,000,000 per applicant.

Eligibility: FDIC-Insured Depository Institutions.

Link: http://www.cdfifund.gov/what_we_do/programs_id.asp?programID=1

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