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The six attributes that separate an EQ2 from subordinated debt, why banks use them for CRA and BEA credit, and what CDFIs give up for balance-sheet leverage.
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Community development finance: how capital reaches mission-driven borrowers
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The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program: Who Actually Uses It
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Why a CDFI Fund FA award is matching capital rather than free money, how the match drives sequencing, and what it does to lending capacity.
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How a PRI differs from a grant and from a market-rate investment, the three-part test that defines one, and why primary purpose decides most cases.
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Where the three-to-six-month reserve convention came from, why it fits few nonprofits, and how to size a reserve against your own volatility.
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Equity-Equivalent Investments: How EQ2 Capital Actually Works
The six attributes that separate an EQ2 from subordinated debt, why banks use them for CRA and BEA credit, and what CDFIs give up for balance-sheet leverage.
Read more →Loan Participations: How Community Lenders Move Risk Off the Balance Sheet
Participations vs syndications vs whole-loan sales, why servicing terms decide the relationship, and what a participant should read before buying.
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How the leverage loan, the investment fund, the CDE, and the QALICB fit together in an NMTC transaction — and where the fee load actually sits.
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The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program: Who Actually Uses It
How Treasury's bond guarantee works, why the $100 million floor keeps most CDFIs out, and which institutions serve as Qualified Issuers for the rest.
Read more →What a CDFI Fund Financial Assistance Award Actually Changes
Why a CDFI Fund FA award is matching capital rather than free money, how the match drives sequencing, and what it does to lending capacity.
Read more →CDFI Certification: What the Treasury Actually Requires
The seven tests a CDFI must meet for Treasury certification, why the target market test causes the most trouble, and what the 2023 revision changed.
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Operating Reserves: How Much Is Enough, and Who Decides
Where the three-to-six-month reserve convention came from, why it fits few nonprofits, and how to size a reserve against your own volatility.
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Program-Related Investments: The Tax Mechanics Foundations Get Wrong
How a PRI differs from a grant and from a market-rate investment, the three-part test that defines one, and why primary purpose decides most cases.
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