The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund published a notice of guarantee availability Feb. 28, inviting applications for the CDFI Bond Guarantee program for fiscal year 2022. The CDFI Fund has up to $500 million in guarantee authority and the notice explains application submission and evaluation requirements and processes. Bond issues will have a minimum guarantee of $100 million each up to the aggregate total of $500 million. Qualified issuer applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET April 20 and guarantee applications are due by 11:59 p.m. April 26. If applicable, CDFI certification applications needed to be received by March 28.

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The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund announced Feb. 28 that it received 199 applications from community development entities (CDEs) under the calendar year (CY) 2021 round of the new markets tax credit (NMTC). Applicants are headquartered in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. These CDEs requested $14.7 billion in total NMTC allocation authority, nearly triple the $5 billion available under the CY 2021 round.

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The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund published a notice in the Feb. 7 Federal Register seeking public comment on a revised certification of material events form for CDFI Fund assistance, award, allocation or bond loan agreements. The form is used by participants in the new markets tax credit (NMTC) incentive, CDFI Bond Guarantee program, Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) program and others to indicate a recipient’s and/or allocatee’s material event, explain the event and describe their organization’s response. Comments are due by April 8.

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Martin J. Gruenberg, acting chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Feb. 7 released a statement of the FDIC’s priorities for the coming year, including strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Gruenberg’s statement featured five areas of emphasis: strengthening the CRA, addressing financial risks posed by climate change, reviewing the bank merger process, evaluating crypt-asset risks and finalizing the Basel III capital rule. Concerning the CRA, Gruenberg said the Federal Reserve, Comptroller of the Currency and FDIC plan to act jointly in the “near future” on a notice of proposed rulemaking on a revision of CRA regulations and said action on the revision would be a top priority of the FDIC.

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An Urban Institute report issued in February provides 11 guideposts for stakeholders to help address racial inequity through access to capital. The report offers insights for Community Development Financial Institutions, examining the surge in racial equity commitments in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. More than $215 billion, by the report’s count, was committed via the private and philanthropic sectors.