The Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC) announced plans to secure $3 billion in deposits for community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs).
The coalition, which includes nearly 30 private sector companies and foundations, is committed to supporting community lenders with a proven record of reaching low-income, rural, and other underserved communities. In June, the EOC announced that it had reached the goal made at last year’s Freedman’s Bank Forum and secured $1 billion in committed deposits in CDFIs and MDIs. This new commitment represents a 200 percent increase over last yearʻs total.
The announcement came just ahead of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s annual Freedman’s Bank Forum, named after the Freedman’s Bank, which was created in the 1800s to provide economic opportunity for newly emancipated Americans. Among those in attendance were Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other Biden administration officials.
“Innovative partnerships between the public and private sectors are key to increasing economic opportunity for all Americans,” Yellen said. “The new private sector commitments announced today will maximize the Biden-Harris Administration’s investments in expanding access to capital in low-income, rural, and other underserved communities, which increase long-term productivity and economic growth.”
Further, Vice President Kamala Harris is calling on companies in the semiconductor, clean energy, transportation, heavy industry, and biomanufacturing industries to commit at least 15 percent of their U.S.-based contract spending on outside goods and services from small and underserved businesses by 2025.
“To bridge the financial disparities that hold so many of our communities back, we must continue to work together to combine the capacity of the private sector with the reach and the scale that only the government can provide. When we do, we create opportunity and prosperity for millions of Americans,” Harris said.
Micron, Air Products, and Xcel Energy are the first companies to make this commitment. These companies have also committed to provide technical assistance to help underserved entrepreneurs enter these high-growth sectors. Also, Google has committed to spend at least $1 billion annually with diverse-owned suppliers in the United States. These investments will facilitate the growth of a diverse set of suppliers and create economic benefits in underserved communities.