White House Readout of Meeting with Community Lenders Expanding Capital for Underserved Communities

This week, the White House welcomed the Board of Directors of the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), a leading national network of more than 400 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) working to ensure communities underserved by traditional finance have access to affordable, responsible financial products and services. A dozen OFN leaders representing community development loan funds, banks, venture capital funds, and credit unions met with Biden-Harris Administration officials from the Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council, Office of Public Engagement, and U.S. Department of the Treasury to discuss the President and Vice President's ongoing efforts to catalyze equitable development and economic growth by expanding access to capital for historically underserved communities. Officials reiterated the critical role that CDFIs play in ensuring that federal investments and community finance policies can be leveraged to unlock the economic potential of communities whose talent and ingenuity has too often been left on the sidelines. The group discussed the Administration's historic support for CDFIs and community investment – including through Treasury's $8.5 billion Emergency Capital Investment Program and nearly $10 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program– and ongoing implementation of the President Biden's Investing in America agenda.

Administration Participants Included:

• Stephen Benjamin, Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement
• Amber Greene, Special Assistant to the President for Racial and Economic Justice, Domestic Policy Council
• Chad Maisel, Special Assistant to the President for Housing and Urban Policy, Domestic Policy Council
• Michael Negron, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, National Economic Council
• Janis Bowdler, Counselor to the Secretary for Racial Equity, U.S. Department of the Treasury

Opportunity Finance Network Board Participants Included:

• Harold Pettigrew, President & CEO, Opportunity Finance Network
• Aisha Benson, CEO & President, Nonprofit Finance Fund
• Betsy Biemann, CEO, Coastal Enterprises (CEI)
• Christina Travers, CFO & EVP, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
• David Beck, Policy Director, Self-Help Ventures Fund
• Elena Gonzales, Chief Operating Officer, Homewise, Inc.
• Henry Jiménez, President & CEO, Propel Nonprofits
• Martina Edwards, Chief of Strategic Partnerships, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE)
• Robert Villarreal, Senior Advisor, Momentus Capital
• Sara Razavi, CEO, Working Solutions CDFI
• Ted Piccolo, Executive Director, Northwest Native Development Fund (NNDF)