WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen released the following statement on the 30th anniversary of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund.
“Thirty years ago, President Clinton worked to establish the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund with bipartisan congressional support to promote economic development in communities that had been overlooked and left behind. In its first 30 years, the CDFI Fund has had a significant impact on communities nationwide. Since its creation, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $7 billion to CDFIs and community lenders and $76 billion in tax credits to community development entities. Every dollar the CDFI Fund invests is estimated to catalyze at least eight dollars in private-sector investment, magnifying its impact. While the CDFI fund has done important work for decades, it has been especially critical to the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to drive a historic economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and advance our long-term economic agenda. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, CDFIs and other community lenders have received record public and private sector support to help small businesses survive the economic crisis and grow and hire during the economic recovery. These lenders have also been key to our efforts to increase housing supply. In June, I announced the CDFI Fund will provide an additional $100 million over the next three years to support the production of affordable housing. As we look back over the last 30 years, it is remarkable how significant a role the CDFI Fund has played in fueling economic development in countless communities across the United States, and we look forward to continuing this important work in the years ahead.”
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