Boston, MA – August 21, 2017 – OneUnited Bank, the largest Black owned bank in the country, has won a $227,000 award from the U.S. Treasury Department’s 2016 Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) program for its community development lending. This marks the 11th time the Bank has received the award.
“This award will support the Bank’s mission to serve urban communities and foster financial literacy,” said Teri Williams, President & COO of OneUnited Bank. “We are honored by the recognition of our community development efforts. We are focused on increasing the rate of Black homeownership by expanding our home loan programs and supporting affordable housing in low to moderate income communities with our multifamily loan programs.”
Recently, OneUnited Bank partnered with the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) in a Facebook Live event, #BuyTheBlock, to promote first time home buyer’s programs and home ownership.
The BEA program is administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund and provides an incentive to FDIC-insured banks to expand the availability of credit, investment capital and financial services in distressed urban and rural communities. These awards complement the community development activities of an elite group of certified CDFI banks and thrifts by recognizing their support of distressed communities. Awards are provided on an annual basis, and eligible institutions must comply with the rigorous requirements of the program and submit an application for consideration. The CDFI Fund recently announced it has awarded over $18.6 million dollars in BEA grants to 102 banks across the country, which increased their loans and investments in distressed communities by $285.5 million.
Media Contact: Suzan McDowell, President, Circle of One Marketing [email protected] (305) 576-3790
ONEUNITED BANK
OneUnited Bank is the premier bank for urban communities, the largest Black-owned bank, the first Black internet bank and a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Its mission is to provide affordable financial services to support economic development in urban communities and maintain superior financial performance to maximize shareholder value. OneUnited is an FDIC-insured bank and an equal housing lender.
