As a small business banker, you know that it can be difficult for small businesses to get their loans approved. Lending requirements tend to be more difficult for small businesses to meet – especially for those working in communities who may need the funding the most. Your underwriting department might not be able to approve […]

They say you have to spend money to make money – but what if you don’t have the money to spend in the first place? It’s no secret that starting, growing, or acquiring a new business is expensive, and it’s important to make smart choices about where you source your funding and how you use […]

As a precursor to this year’s Opportunity Finance Network’s Small Business Finance Forum in Chicago, Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF) and Next Street brought together leaders in the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) industry to learn from each other. The topic du jour – Understanding, Assessing, and Acting within a Market to Effectively Serve Small […]

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – March 17, 2017 – Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF) President and CEO Frank Altman released the following statement in response to President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget, which would all but eliminate the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, cutting $210 million in funding. Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF) is disappointed to learn […]

Vote for your favorite CRF borrower in the Calvert Foundation Small Business Competition Minneapolis, MN – (December 15, 2016) Six Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF) borrowers – RoadSkulls, GrandChamps, Way Station, Eastlake Brewery, CW Consulting and Lucky Strike Lanes – are competing to win up to $10,000 in the Calvert Small Business Competition. The contest was open to […]

CDFIs help banks meet CRA requirements The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was passed by Congress in 1977 as part of an effort to ensure banks met the credit needs of all communities. The Act established a community reinvestment standard for banks to follow. Each bank is evaluated regularly by the Office of the Comptroller of […]

Thanks to funding support from the Kresge Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Michigan State Housing Development Authority and Huntington, FirstMerit, Flagstar, Talmer and Liberty Banks, CRF was able to launch Detroit Home Mortgage. Read below to find out how it will help increase home ownership in the city of Detroit The ProblemWhile there were a significant number […]

At CRF, we believe access to healthy food should be a right. We help finance organizations such as Houston Food Bank, which distributes more than 74 million nutritious meals per year. We also work with others to develop creative ways to finance access to healthy food. As members of Advocates for the Good Food Access […]

As part of its Q1 earnings press release, the board of directors of Lending Club announced last week that it had accepted the resignation of Renaud Laplanche as Chairman and CEO following an internal review of sales of $22 million in near-prime loans to a single investor. This announcement also presented the company’s first quarter […]