Amara Omeokwe

speaker

439 appearances 11 recordings 1 series first heard Mar 2020 last heard Dec 2023

Amara Omeokwe’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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WSJ Your Money Briefing · Community Lenders Seen as Playing Role in Push for Economic Equity · 18 Aug 2020 podcast

seek to get involved and contribute to addressing racial inequality. matched

They've learned that CDFIs have been doing this work of addressing inequality for a long time. matched

And so they're turning their attention and their resources to CDFIs. matched

So Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, are community banks, credit unions, or investment funds. matched

that have the express mission of dealing with some of the disparities that you were talking about in the intro. matched

They serve home buyers, small businesses, and others in rural, impoverished, and minority communities. matched

CDFIs are certified by the Treasury Department, and the Treasury Department also has what is called the CDFI Fund. matched

Congress appropriates money to the CDFI Fund every year, and CDFIs can apply for grants and other support through that fund. matched

Well, CDFIs are getting a lot of attention because of this moment of reflection on racial inequality that the country is having. matched

And as corporations, larger financial institutions and individuals seek to get involved and contribute to addressing racial inequality, they've learned that CDFIs have been doing this work of addressing inequality for a long time. matched

And so they're turning their attention and their resources to CDFIs. matched

So the Trump administration and Congress really emphasize CDFIs as the way that money from the Paycheck Protection Program was going to reach underserved communities. matched

So you may remember that the Paycheck Protection Program matched

was an initiative rolled out by Congress and the administration to offer forgivable loans to small businesses to help those businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic. matched

So Congress set aside a certain amount of money for small and mid-sized lenders, including CDFIs, matched

to make these loans. matched

And then the administration later announced an additional set aside for CDFIs to make the loan. matched

So the administration and Congress have really said that the way to make sure that these loans were reaching Black and other communities that are typically underserved by larger banks is to use CDFIs. matched

That's right. matched

So I'll just give you one example, Hope, which is based in Mississippi. matched

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