Clearinghouse CDFI lands $100M Treasury-backed bond for community lending
What's the deal? Clearinghouse Community Development Financial InstitutionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (Clearinghouse CDFI) has secured a $100 million allocation from the US Department of the Treasury's Bond Guarantee Program. The Lake Forest, California-based lender will deploy the debt in low-income, underserved, and rural areas across the US for community and economic development.
What's the endgame? Clearinghouse CDFI finances projects in communities with limited access to traditional capital, including Indian Country. Since 1996, it has delivered $2.8 billion in loans to more than 2,770 projects, creating or retaining over 45,250 jobs and 14,000 affordable housing units.
Where's it going? The lender plans to channel some of the capital into affordable housing. "We hope to deploy some of this capital in places like Mississippi County, Arkansas to create new housing for steel workers and their families," said founder, president, and chief executive officer Douglas Bystry.
How it works: The Bond Guarantee Program is not a grant. It is a federal credit program that issues debt instruments CDFIs must repay, operating at zero cost to taxpayers — the government earns revenue through the interest charged.
Why now? In March, Clearinghouse CDFI fully repaid its first $100 million bond, issued in 2014 — the first bond ever issued and repaid through the program. It deployed that allocation through 81 loans totaling $196 million across states including Texas, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, Arizona, and California, creating 2,253 permanent and construction jobs, retaining 725 jobs, and producing 718 affordable housing units.
The signal: At $100 million, the allocation ranks near the top of debt rounds, underscoring appetite for long-term capital in distressed communities. With 26 consecutive years of profitability behind it, Clearinghouse CDFI makes the case that mission-driven lending can run on financial discipline.
Read more: prnewswire.com
Image credit: Clearinghouse CDFI
