[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 65 (Friday, April 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16460-16461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8785]
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 65 / Friday, April 4, 1997 /
Notices
[[Page 16460]]
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) Inviting Applications for the
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program--Core
Component
AGENCY: Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Department
of the Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) inviting applications.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions
Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.) (hereafter referred to as the
``Act'') provides authority for the Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund (hereafter referred to as ``the Fund'') to select and
provide financial and technical assistance to eligible applicants under
the Community Development Financial Institutions (``CDFI'') Program.
The revised interim rule (12 CFR part 1805), published elsewhere in
this issue of the Federal Register, provides guidance on the contents
of the necessary application materials and program requirements. As of
the date of this Notice and subject to funding availability, the Fund
intends to award up to $32.5 million in appropriated funds pursuant to
this Notice. The Fund reserves the right to award in excess of $32.5
million in appropriated funds pursuant to this Notice provided that the
funds are available and the Fund deems it appropriate to do so. This
Notice is in connection with the core component of the CDFI Program.
The core component provides direct assistance to CDFIs that serve their
target markets through loans, investments and other activities, rather
than primarily through the financing of other CDFIs. Also being
published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register is a separate
Notice in connection with an intermediary component of the CDFI
Program. The intermediary component provides financial assistance to
CDFIs that provide financing primarily to other CDFIs and/or to support
the formation of CDFIs. The Fund currently anticipates making available
up to $7.5 million of appropriated funds for the intermediary
component, making up to $40 million the estimated aggregate amount of
appropriated funds available under the CDFI Program pursuant to the
Notices being published in this issue of the Federal Register. (Since
only the subsidy cost, and not the face amount, of loans must be
charged against appropriated funds, the actual aggregate amount of
awards is likely to be somewhat higher than the amount of appropriated
funds that are obligated.)
DATES: Applications may be submitted at any time following April 4,
1997. The deadline for receipt of an application is 6 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time on Friday, June 20, 1997. Applications received after
that date and time will not be accepted and will be returned to the
sender. Applications sent by facsimile will not be accepted.
ADDRESSES: Applications must be sent to: The Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220, (202) 622-8662. (This is not a toll
free number.) If you have any questions about the regulations, this
Notice or the application packet, you may call or write to the Fund at
the above telephone number or address, or you may send questions by
facsimile to (202) 622-7754. To request an application packet, please
send by facsimile a written request which includes the name of the
requester, organization, mailing address, telephone number and
facsimile number. Requests for an application packet should be sent by
facsimile to (202) 622-2599, which is the facsimile number being used
to received requests for an application packet.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Credit and investment capital are essential ingredients in creating
and retaining jobs, developing affordable housing, starting or
expanding businesses, revitalizing neighborhoods, and empowering
people. As a key urban and rural policy initiative, the CDFI Program is
facilitating the creation of a national network of financial
institutions that are specifically dedicated to community development.
This strategy will build strong institutions that make loans and
investments and provide services to economically distressed investment
areas and disadvantaged targeted populations. The Act, enacted to
implement this vision, authorizes the Fund to select entities to
receive financial and technical assistance. New institutions are
eligible to receive start-up assistance. Institutions in operation at
the time of application are eligible to receive assistance to expand
their activities. This Notice invites applications from eligible
applicants for the purpose of promoting community development
activities and revitalization.
The Fund has determined that it can best address the needs of the
diverse and growing CDFI industry by expanding the tools it utilizes to
assist CDFIs. The program connected with this Notice constitutes the
core component of the CDFI Program, involving direct assistance to
CDFIs that serve their target markets through loans, investments and
other activities, rather than primarily through the financing of other
CDFIs. For the foreseeable future, this core component will receive the
great bulk of the Fund's resources devoted to the CDFI Program.
However, the Fund recognizes that many CDFIs may have specialized needs
which the Fund can most effectively address by supporting intermediary
CDFIs that, in turn, address such specialized needs. Thus, to expand
its reach, and better address the varied needs of the CDFI industry,
the Fund is also having published elsewhere in this issue of the
Federal Register a separate Notice containing an intermediary component
of the CDFI Program. This intermediary component is also being
published pursuant to the revised interim rule (12 CFR part 1805). An
applicant under the intermediary component Notice shall meet the
eligibility requirements under Sec. 1805.200. An additional requirement
imposed upon each intermediary component applicant pursuant to
Sec. 1805.200(a)(3) is that it must primarily focus on financing CDFIs
or CDFIs in formation. To illustrate the concept, an intermediary CDFI
may have a specialized niche or niches focusing on financing a specific
type or types of CDFIs, providing small amounts of capital per CDFI,
financing CDFIs with specialized risk levels, or financing CDFIs being
formed or organized but which are not yet CDFIs. By providing financial
assistance to specialized intermediaries, the Fund believes it can
leverage the expertise of such intermediaries and strengthen the Fund's
capacity to support the development and enhancement of the CDFI
industry.
II. Eligibility
The Act specifies the requirements that each applicant must meet in
order to be considered a CDFI. Entities that meet, or propose to meet,
these requirements are eligible to apply for assistance. In general, a
CDFI must have a primary mission of promoting community development,
provide
[[Page 16461]]
lending or investments, serve an investment area or a targeted
population, provide development services, maintain community
accountability, and be a nongovernment entity. The details of these
requirements and other program requirements are described in the
revised interim rule governing the CDFI Program (12 CFR part 1805)
which is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. A
CDFI, or proposed CDFI, whose primary focus is financing other CDFIs
and/or providing financing to support the formation of CDFIs shall not
be eligible to apply pursuant to this Notice, but instead may be
eligible to apply pursuant to the Notice on the intermediary component
published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
III. Types of Assistance
An applicant may submit an application for financial assistance,
technical assistance, or both. Financial assistance may be provided
through an equity investment, a grant, a loan, deposits, credit union
shares, or some combination thereof. Applicants for financial
assistance shall indicate the dollar amount, form, terms, and
conditions of assistance requested. Applicants for technical assistance
shall describe the types of technical assistance requested, estimate
the cost to obtain such assistance, and provide a narrative
justification of its needs for such assistance.
IV. Application Packet
Except as described hereafter, an applicant, whether applying for
financial assistance, technical assistance, or both, shall submit the
materials described in Sec. 1805.701 and the application packet. To
facilitate coherence and avoid duplication, an applicant may present
its application in an order and format that it believes to be the most
appropriate, provided that the requested information is included and
that an index is provided to assist the Fund in locating the items
requested by Sec. 1805.701.
If an applicant is currently certified as a CDFI, it may, at its
option, submit a copy of the letter of certification in lieu of the
information requested in Part III, A through H, of the application
packet. However, an applicant should include in its application
information that it believes is relevant to the substantive review of
the application specified in Sec. 1805.802(b).
V. Matching Funds
Applicants pursuant to this Notice may use for matching funds
monies obtained or legally committed on or after January 1, 1996.
Applicants selected to receive assistance under this Notice must have
firm commitments for the matching funds required pursuant to
Sec. 1805.600 by no later than August 31, 1997. The Fund may recapture
and reprogram funds if an applicant fails to raise the required match
by such date. The Fund reserves the right to grant an extension of such
matching funds deadline for specific applicants selected for assistance
if the Fund deems it appropriate.
VI. Selection Factors
Applications will be selected on a competitive basis in accordance
with criteria described in Secs. 1805.800 to 1805.802. Special emphasis
is expected to be placed on:
(1) The applicant's track record, financial strength, and current
operations;
(2) The capacity, skills, and experience of the management team;
(3) The quality of the applicant's comprehensive business plan;
(4) The likelihood that the applicant will be able to raise the
required matching funds; and
(5) The extent and nature of the potential community development
impact that would be catalyzed by the Fund's assistance, relative to
the amount of such assistance to be provided.
The applicant's track record, financial strength and current
operations are important to the extent they may be suggestive about the
prospects for success in the future. In the case of a young or start-up
institution with no or a limited track record, extra emphasis will be
placed on the capacity, skills, and experience of the applicant's
management team and the quality of its comprehensive business plan.
While previous awardees are eligible to apply pursuant to this
Notice, it is the current expectation of the Fund that a substantial
majority of the funds awarded pursuant to this Notice will be to
applicants that are not previous awardees. Therefore, the Fund may give
additional consideration to applicants that are not previous awardees.
The Fund has sole discretion in the selection of applications for
assistance. The anticipated maximum award per applicant under this
Notice is $2 million. However, the Fund, in its sole discretion,
reserves the right to award amounts in excess of $2 million for an
applicant(s) if it deems it appropriate.
VII. Workshops
The CDFI Fund expects to host workshops to disseminate information
to organizations interested in applying for assistance pursuant to this
Notice. If you wish to be on a mailing list to receive information
about the scheduling of such workshops, please contact the Fund.
VIII. Other Matters
(a) Paperwork Reduction Act. The reader should refer to the revised
interim rule (12 CFR part 1805) published elsewhere in this issue of
the Federal Register for details on the information collection
requirements of the rule and this Notice.
(b) Environmental Impact. Pursuant to Treasury Directive 75-02, the
Department of the Treasury has determined that implementation of the
CDFI Program under the revised interim rule is categorically excluded
from the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) and
does not require an environmental review. The determination is
available for public inspection between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
weekdays at the office of the Fund.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4703, 4717: Chapter X, Pub. L. 104-19,
Stat. 237; 12 CFR 1805.700.
Kirsten S. Moy,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 97-8785 Filed 4-2-97; 1:09 pm]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P