I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4694 

To amend the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions 

Act of 1994 to provide financial assistance to community development 

financial institutions to help defray the costs of operating small dollar 

loan programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2010 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. HIMES, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Mr. GONZALEZ, 

Ms. ESHOO, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. CHU, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. 

HINOJOSA, Mr. BACA, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. PERRIELLO, Mr. AL

GREEN of Texas, Ms. CLARKE, and Mr. MOORE of Kansas) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to provide financial assistance to community development financial institutions to 

help defray the costs of operating small dollar loan programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Affordable Small 

5 Dollar Loan Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO ESTABLISH LOAN-LOSS RESERVE 

2 FUNDS. 

3 The Community Development Banking and Financial 

4 Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 122. GRANTS TO ESTABLISH LOAN-LOSS RESERVE 

7 FUNDS. 

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(1) make financial assistance available from 

11 the Fund in order to help community development 

12 financial institutions defray the costs of operating 

13 small dollar loan programs, by providing the 

14 amounts necessary for such institutions to establish 

15 their own loan loss reserve funds to mitigate some 

16 of the losses on such small dollar loan programs; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) encourage community development finan19 cial institution to establish and maintain small dollar 

20 loan programs that would help give consumers ac21 cess to mainstream financial institutions and combat 

22 payday lending. 

23 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) LOAN-LOSS RESERVE FUND GRANTS.—The 

25 Fund shall make grants to community development 

26 financial institutions or to any partnership between 


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1 such community development financial institutions 

2 and any other federally insured depository institu3 tion with a primary mission to serve targeted invest4 ment areas, as such areas are defined under section 

5 103(16), to enable such institutions or any partner6 ship of such institutions to establish a loan-loss re7 serve fund in order to defray the costs of a small 

8 dollar loan program established or maintained by 

9 such institution. 

10 ‘‘(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A community 

11 development financial institution or any partnership 

12 of institutions established pursuant to paragraph (1) 

13 shall provide non-Federal matching funds in an 

14 amount equal to 50 percent of the amount of any 

15 grant received under this section. 

16 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Any grant amounts re17 ceived by a community development financial institu18 tions or any partnership between or among such in19 stitutions under paragraph (1)— 

20 ‘‘(A) may not be used by such institution 

21 to provide direct loans to consumers; 

22 ‘‘(B) may be used by such institution to 

23 help recapture a portion or all of a defaulted 

24 loan made under the small dollar loan program 

25 of such institution; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) may be used to designate and utilize 

2 a fiscal agent for services normally provided by 

3 such an agent. 

4 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—The 

5 Fund shall make technical assistance grants to com6 munity development financial institutions or any 

7 partnership between or among such institutions to 

8 support and maintain a small dollar loan program. 

9 Any grant amounts received under this paragraph 

10 may be used for technology, staff support, and other 

11 costs associated with establishing a small dollar loan 

12 program. 

13 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

14 following definitions shall apply: 

15 ‘‘(1) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY THAT

16 COMPILES AND MAINTAINS FILES ON CONSUMERS ON

17 A NATIONWIDE BASIS.—The term ‘consumer report18 ing agency that compiles and maintains files on con19 sumers on a nationwide basis’ has the same meaning 

20 given such term in section 603(p) of the Fair Credit 

21 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(p)). 

22 ‘‘(2) SMALL DOLLAR LOAN PROGRAM.—The 

23 term ‘small dollar loan program’ means a loan pro24 gram under which a community development finan25 cial institution or any partnership between or among 


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1 any such institutions offers loans to consumers 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) are made in amounts not exceeding 

4 $2,500; 

5 ‘‘(B) must be repaid in installments; 

6 ‘‘(C) have no pre-payment penalty; 

7 ‘‘(D) the institution has to report pay8 ments regarding the loan to at least 1 of the 

9 consumer reporting agencies that compiles and 

10 maintains files on consumers on a nationwide 

11 basis; and 

12 ‘‘(E) meet any other affordability require13 ments as may be established by the Adminis14 trator. 

15 ‘‘(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Before the end of the 

16 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

17 the Safe Affordable Small Dollar Loan Act of 2010, and 

18 each year thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 

19 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 

20 the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of 

21 the House of Representatives a report describing— 

22 ‘‘(1) the activities carried out by the Fund pur23 suant to this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) any measurable results, as appropriate and 

2 available, related to the achievement of the purposes 

3 of this section as described in subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) GRANT PROGRAM.—There are authorized 

6 to be appropriated for fiscal years 2010 through 

7 2015 such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

8 the grant program established under this section. 

9 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund for each 

11 fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 2010, an amount 

12 equal to the amount of the administrative costs of 

13 the Fund for the operation of the grant program es14 tablished under this section.’’. 

Æ 


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