Treasury awards $1.7 billion in CDFI grants

Federal Issues Department of Treasury Underserved Consumer Finance CDFI Covid-19

On April 10, Vice President Kamala Harris and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo announced that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) Fund has awarded more than $1.73 billion in grants to 603 CDFIs to help low- and moderate-income communities recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial institutions that received grants through the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program include banks, holding companies, and credit unions, as well as CDFI-designated non-depository loan funds and venture funds. Treasury noted that the recipients of the grants are “mission-driven financial institutions [that] specialize in delivering responsible capital, credit, and financial services to underserved communities.” The CDFI grants “may be used to support lending related to small businesses and microenterprises, community facilities, affordable housing, commercial real estate, and intermediary lending to nonprofits and CDFIs,” Treasury explained, adding that funds may also go towards financial and developmental services to support borrowers, as well as operational support for grant recipients.