EDA: $1.5 Million Invested to Establish a Water Treatment Facility to Support Business Growth in Waynesboro, GA
Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.5 million grant to the city of Waynesboro, Georgia, to establish a water well and water treatment facility needed to accommodate local business needs. This EDA project, to be matched with $1.5 million in local funds,…
EDA: $620,000 Invested for Infrastructure Improvements to Spur Business Growth in Santa Cruz, CA
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $620,000 grant to the city of Santa Cruz, California, to make critical infrastructure improvements needed to expand usable business space in the city. This EDA grant, to be matched with $155,000 in local investment, is expected to create 75 jobs and generate…
SBA: “Getting Bank on Track: Help Is Here” Webinar Series Launched to Help America’s Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the non-profit Public Private Strategies Institute will launch a new regional webinar series, “Getting Back on Track: Help is Here,” to provide Main Street entrepreneurs with the information and resources they need to continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The educational webinars will feature speakers from The White House, the SBA,…
Census Bureau: Household Pulse Survey Phase 3.1 Biweekly Data Released
The U.S. Census Bureau today released new data from phase 3.1 of the experimental Household Pulse Survey. Phase 3.1 includes substantial revisions to the questionnaire. Additional questions address the following new topics: disability, child health access, telehealth and child care. Also included are demographic questions to identify service members and military spouses, and questions to classify respondents employed…
SBA: Last Call for Restaurant Revitalization Fund Applications
Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced that eligible eating establishments have until Monday, May 24, 8 p.m. ET, to submit applications to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. “If our nation’s food and beverage industry is going to fully recover, we must ensure as many of the hardest-hit businesses get the economic aid they need,” said Administrator Guzman….
SBA: New HUBZones Announced to Expand Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman today announced the expansion of HUBZone, a program that provides small businesses in low-income communities that hire low-income residents opportunities to compete in the federal marketplace. The announcement makes Illinois the first state to have the newly created Governor-Designated Covered HUBZones. “This expansion of HUBZone areas in…
FHFA: Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Proposed Duty to Serve Underserved Markets Plans for 2022-2024 Announced
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today published the proposed 2022-2024 Underserved Markets Plans submitted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) under the Duty to Serve (DTS) program. The proposed Plans cover the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024. FHFA issued a final rule in 2016 that implemented the DTS provisions as…
OCC: Implementation of June 2020 CRA Final Rule Being Reconsidered
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2020, a final rule (June 2020 rule) to modernize the agency’s regulations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The OCC has determined that it will reconsider the June 2020 rule. While this reconsideration is ongoing, the OCC will not object…
OCC: Report Examines Key Risks, Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Federal Banking System
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today reported the key issues facing the federal banking system and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the federal banking industry in its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Spring 2021. Banks maintained sound capital and liquidity levels but profitability remains stressed due to low interest rates and…
ABA: Report Shows Addressing Unbanked & Underbanked Challenges Requires Multifaceted Approach
Enhancing existing programs, highlighting no- and low-cost bank account offerings, improving financial education, expanding broadband internet access, and encouraging the opening of bank accounts during government benefit program enrollment will help address the unbanked/underbanked challenge in the United States. A new report, Delivering Financial Products and Services to the Unbanked and Underbanked in the United States…