(Archived Content)
Visit Underscores Administration's Continued Commitment to City's Revitalization
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Highlighting the importance of policies and programs to support economic growth and job creation, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew today toured New Center Stamping, a small business that previously received a bank loan due to credit support from the Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The tour marked the conclusion of a two-day visit to Detroit, during which Secretary Lew also met with Detroit-area business, foundation, and community representatives to hear their views on the economy and discuss ways that the private sector and non-profit communities can collaborate to spur growth in the local community. This visit featured many of the Treasury Department’s resources that are supporting tangible economic development in Detroit, including SSBCI, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), and the Hardest Hit Fund.
“New Center Stamping is a prime example of how targeted policies and programs can drive growth, strengthen the middle class, and bolster local economies,” said Secretary Lew in remarks following his tour of the facility. “Although Detroit has faced considerable obstacles, I firmly believe the city is on the path to stability and economic growth. We are committed to supporting this effort with existing federal resources by providing tangible tools for economic development and encouraging private investment and philanthropic opportunities in the city.”
Based in inner-city Detroit, New Center Stamping benefited from $3.7 million in credit support from SSBCI, a Treasury Department program that aims to encourage small business lending nationwide, by funding state programs that support lending to and investing in small businesses. Michigan has been a top participant in this program and the state had already deployed $69.5 million, representing 88 percent of its SSBCI allocation, by the end of 2013. Specifically, New Center Stamping used its SSBCI funds to obtain bank financing of more than twice the amount of credit support it received, which the company expects will enable it to grow and hire new employees.
Prior to the tour, Secretary Lew met with local business and community leaders at TechTown, a technology business incubator made possible by using Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credit Program, administered through the CDFI Fund, to finance its construction. Both this conversation and a meeting Thursday with foundation representatives focused on investment and philanthropic opportunities in the city, and ways that the federal, state and local government can work together to support these efforts.
Secretary Lew began his visit Thursday with a tour of a neighborhood benefitting from the Treasury Department’s Hardest Hit Fund, an initiative that aims to assist homeowners through programs tailored to local conditions to help prevent foreclosures and stabilize housing markets. This week, the Treasury Department and Detroit reached an important milestone when city officials began using $52 million in federal funding to revitalize neighborhoods by removing abandoned and blighted homes in communities across Detroit.
###