LAKE FOREST, CA – 2022 – Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (CCDFI)—a for-profit corporation serving low-income and underserved areas nationwide and in Indian Country—announced today that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P Ratings) has assigned its ‘A-Stable’ issuer credit rating to the organization. Clearinghouse CDFI originally became the nation’s first non-depository CDFI to be assigned a credit rating from S&P Ratings in 2015.
“This strong rating validates our corporate commitment to financial performance and demonstrates that community development lending, when properly underwritten and structured, is a sustainable business model,” said Clearinghouse CDFI President and CEO, Douglas Bystry. “We hope this rating will allow us to increase our lending efforts in low-income and distressed communities where we operate.”
Clearinghouse CDFI—one of the largest for-profit CDFIs in the nation—is a leader in the CDFI industry, with a number of other “firsts” in its history. These include: (i) the first non-depository CDFI to borrow from the Federal Home Loan Bank, (ii) the first CDFI to close an Opportunity Zone project, and (iii) one of the first CDFIs in the nation to receive approval and access to the Federal Paycheck Protection Program and offer these SBA-backed loans to small businesses struggling to survive the COVID pandemic. Additionally, CCDFI has deployed $603 million of Federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) allocation since inception. Today, Clearinghouse CDFI has over $600 million in total assets with total equity exceeding $105 million. CCDFI is also a certified Benefit “B” Corporation—ranking among the top 5% worldwide of all B Corp companies committed to using business as a force for good and meeting rigorous standards of social/environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. CCDFI was recently recognized by B Lab as Best for the World for the fifth consecutive award year, specifically in the categories of Customers and Governance.
“We hope this investment grade rating will attract additional investors, particularly socially conscious and “impact” investors, who have been unaware of the financial strength of community development lenders and the opportunity to directly invest in this sector,” said Bystry.
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Media Contact:
Ron Demeter, Partner
Vectis Strategies on behalf of Clearinghouse CDFI
Phone: (310) 614-1059
Email:rdemeter@vectisstrategies.com
Download the full report: CCDFI 2022 S&P Rating Report
