Industry News

CFPB: Action Taken to Stop False Identification in Background Screens by Consumer Reporting Companies

Mistaken identity matching undermines housing and labor market recoveries The CFPB today issued an advisory opinion affirming that consumer reporting companies, including tenant and employment screening companies, are violating the law if they engage in shoddy name-matching procedures. Regulators are concerned about the significant harms caused by false identity matching, where an applicant is disqualified…

CDFI Fund: CY 2021 Round of New Markets Tax Credit Program Opened

$5 Billion in Allocation Authority Available The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released today the Notice of Allocation Availability (NOAA) for the calendar year (CY) 2021 round of the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program). The CDFI Fund is providing the NOAA on its website in anticipation…

CDFI Fund: New Markets Tax Credit Program Native Initiative Request for Proposal Issued

Today, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released a Request for Proposal related to a procurement that is part of a broader effort to increase New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) investment in Federal Indian Reservations, Off-Reservation Trust Lands, Hawaiian Home Lands, and Alaskan Native Village Statistical Areas (NMTC Native Areas). Industry and subject-matter…

HUD: More than $13 Million in American Rescue Plan Funds Released to Assist Victims of Housing Discrimination Related to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Funds will support the efforts of fair housing enforcement organizations  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is providing $13.6 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to enable 51 HUD Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) agencies to conduct a range of fair housing enforcement and education and outreach…

FDIC: New Office of Minority and Community Development Banking Created to Support Mission-Driven Banks

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Jelena McWilliams today announced the creation of a new office to support the agency’s ongoing strategic and direct engagement with Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Community Development Financial Institution banks (CDFIs), and other mission-driven banks. The new office will further promote private sector investments in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. …

SBA: $44.8 Billion through Signature Small Business Lending Programs Announced

In fiscal year 2021, 7(a) and 504 loan programs provided more than 61,000 loans, but gaps in access to capital for underserved communities remain Today, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced the agency reached $44.8 billion in funding to small businesses through more than 61,000 traditional loans for fiscal year (FY) 2021. “In the midst…

EDA: Build Back Better Regional Challenge Applicants Announced Showing Incredible Enthusiasm for Transformational Investment in Regions Across the Country

529 Applications Received from Regions across all 50 States and Five Territories Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced that it has experienced strong interest in its American Rescue Plan Build Back Better Regional Challenge, receiving 529 applications from regions across all 50 states and five territories. The $1 billion Build Back…

SBA: Community Navigator Pilot Program Grantees Announced

51 Grantees Selected Nationwide to Serve as Hubs Connecting Disadvantaged Small Businesses with Government Resources  Today, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman  announced grantees for the Biden-Harris Administration’s Community Navigator Pilot Program, an American Rescue Plan initiative designed to reduce barriers that all small businesses, including those owned by disadvantaged groups such as veterans, women, and those from rural communities and communities of color, often face in accessing critical support. The Community Navigator Pilot Program will provide $100 million in funding to 51 organizations that will work with hundreds of local groups to connect America’s entrepreneurs to government resources so they can recover…

SBA: New Women’s Business Center in Rochester, New York Announced

The new resource hub will increase access to opportunities and recovery solutions for women entrepreneurs in Upstate New York. The U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced today the launch of a new Women’s Business Center (WBC) in Rochester, NY, which will be operated by the Urban League of Rochester, N.Y., Inc. (ULR). The new…

SBA: National Veterans Small Business Week Scheduled for November 1st through 5th

Events will highlight the Agency’s efforts to support the Nation’s Nearly 1.8 million veteran-owned small businesses through its 22 Veterans Business Outreach Centers The U.S. Small Business Administration will celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and resilience of our veteran small business owners during National Veterans Small Business Week, Nov. 1-5, 2021. “National Veterans Small Business Week is a time…