[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.

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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