JPMorgan Chase supports CDFIs

JPMorgan Chase has announced grants totaling $25 million to five Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to help spur small business lending and job creation.

Awarded as part of the bank's $100 million commitment to strengthen CDFIs serving hard-to-reach communities, the grants — which range from $2 million to $5 million — will double, in most cases, the recipients' existing capital base, enabling them to grow in a way otherwise not possible in the current economic climate. The recipients include ACCION Texas-Louisiana; the Los Angeles-based Valley Economic Development Center; the Opportunity Fund, which serves the San Francisco Bay Area; the First State Community Loan Fund in Wilmington, Delaware; and Enterprise Cascadia, a creditor and consultant to small businesses, community facilities, nonprofits, and consumers in Washington and Oregon. Additional grants will be announced at a later date.

Over the last three years, Chase has provided more than $1 billion in loans, grants, and investments to CDFIs and their affiliates. Last year, the bank committed a total of $100 million, including $50 million for charter schools, in conjunction with a larger $325 million charter school initiative; $25 million to small businesses; and $25 million for other community needs.

"Small businesses are critical to our economy and they need permanent capital to strengthen their balance sheets in order to grow," said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. "Our $25 million funding initiative, when leveraged with private capital and government programs, will increase lending to small businesses by $125 [million] to $250 million."

“Chase Donates $25 Million to Support U.S. Small Businesses.” JPMorgan Chase Press Release 1/28/11.