In late February 2021, the Sacramento County Department of Finance began accepting applications for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) program. Through the CRA Program, County Treasury invests money in financial institutions with a local presence that meet the credit needs of the community.
The Department of Finance actively reaches out to all banks operating at least one branch in the County to let them know that the CRA Program is accepting applications.
“This year, we awarded three banks with deposits,” said Dave Matuskey, Sacramento County Investment Officer. “Each bank received $20 million for a total investment of $60 million. In 2020, the three banks awarded made a total of 630 mortgage-related and small business loans for a total of $103,847,398 in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.”
In 2020,
the County made a change that allowed regional and community banks to more easily qualify for larger deposits. The size of the deposit the County makes is dependent on the level of lending activity in low-and moderate-income neighborhoods in Sacramento County.
The CRA Program authorizes the placement of public deposits from the County’s
Pooled Investment Fund in one-year, fixed-rate certificates of deposit with qualified financial institutions that meet the credit needs of the community, including credit unions and community banks.
The three banks that were awarded deposits this year are:
- Bank of the West
- East West Bank
- Five Star Bank