Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell today announced awards totaling nearly $25 million to 69 depository institutions for serving economically distressed communities across the nation. The awards are being made through the fiscal year 2010 round of the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program. The activities that qualify these institutions for BEA Program awards occur in census tracts where at least 30 percent of the population lives at or below the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is 1.5 times above the national average.

"I am pleased to announce the recipients of the fiscal year 2010 Bank Enterprise Awards," said Director Gambrell. "The BEA Program encourages private investment in low-income and economically distressed communities across the nation. At a time of worrying unemployment numbers and rising poverty levels, the investments made by these depository institutions made a tangible difference in the communities they serve."

Collectively, these 69 depository institutions increased their loans and investments in distressed communities by over $276 million; increased their loan, deposits, and technical assistance to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) by over $53 million; and increased the provision of financial services in distressed communities by over $13 million.

The BEA Program awardees were selected after a comprehensive review of 76 applications received by the CDFI Fund from financial institutions across the nation that requested more than $94 million in funding under the fiscal year 2010 round.

About the BEA Program 

The BEA Program was enacted to provide an incentive to FDIC-insured banks and thrifts to increase either their level of support to certified CDFIs or increase their provision of loans, investments, and financial services in distressed communities, such as opening new savings accounts, providing mortgages or investing in local small businesses, or both. CDFIs are specialized community-based financial institutions that are able to respond to gaps that exist in their local markets. 

Through the BEA Program, the CDFI Fund recognizes the key role played by some mainstream depository institutions in promoting community revitalization through the provision of essential financial services, credit, and investment capital. The BEA Program complements the community development activities of banks and thrifts by providing financial incentives to further expand their investments in CDFIs and to increase lending, investment, and service activities within economically distressed communities. Providing monetary awards for increasing community development activities leverages the CDFI Fund's dollars and puts more capital to work in distressed communities throughout the nation.

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded almost $1.2 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through the CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Awards program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $26 billion in tax credit authority to community development entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program.

2010 BEA Program Awards

• 2010 BEA Program Award List
• 2010 BEA Program Highlights
• 2010 BEA Program Awardee Profiles
• 2010 BEA Program Award Booklet

For more information on the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit www.cdfifund.gov.