NCRC and KeyBank Announce Landmark $16.5 Billion Community Benefits Agreement
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and KeyBank signed a landmark $16.5 billion community benefits agreement. The commitment, signed at the 2016 NCRC Annual Conference, is the largest by a single bank in recent history. KeyCorp’s Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney and NCRC’s President and CEO John Taylor were joined at the signing by community leaders from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, and Maine.
The commitment includes mortgage, small business, and community development lending, and philanthropy in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. It will be carried out over five years, beginning in 2017.
A summary of the agreement can be found here.
“This commitment is the result of a collaborative process with community members and bank leaders after months of give and take, resulting in a substantive and detailed commitment of resources and services to communities throughout the KeyBank and First Niagara Bank footprints,” said NCRC President and CEO John Taylor. “This is in contrast to several banks’ recent announcements of commitments that did not engage community leaders or have a system for evaluating the success of that commitment.”
Taylor continued, “This success would have been impossible without the leadership of the highest ranks of the bank making a genuine commitment to increase banking access to traditionally underserved people. Absent the CEO in these dialogues we would never see the level of commitment and detail as made in this agreement. Such commitments begin and end at the highest levels of institutions, and we applaud the leadership of KeyCorp’s Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney and Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility Bruce Murphy for encouraging a commitment that is a real win for everyone involved.”
“The community benefits plan is a very significant victory for Rochester and for upstate New York communities. The infusion of millions of dollars in lending and community development to low- to moderate-income communities will be an important step for stabilizing neighborhoods devastated by the recession,” said Ruhi Maker, Senior Attorney, Enterprise Justice Center, Rochester, NY.
“KeyBank’s Community Benefits Plan will provide necessary banking infrastructure in areas that are traditionally underserved in Buffalo and Western New York. The community is committed to working with KeyBank to achieve their commitment to branch expansion, staffing, services, and investment to ensure that financial services and capital get to communities in Buffalo that have gone without banking resources for decades,” said Thomas Keily, Consumer Data and Research Coordinator, Western New York Law Center, Buffalo, NY.
“The creation of the Neighbors program under KeyBank’s foundation will provide millions of dollars of support for housing and community development practitioners to do the hard work of revitalizing communities,” said Ernie Hogan, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, Pittsburgh, PA.
“In Cleveland, and in other low- and moderate-income communities, a housing crisis remains in effect as other, more affluent communities enjoy the benefits of an economic recovery. The integral components of capital and investment, of safe, affordable mortgages and of access to beneficial banking products are the tools needed to increase the stabilization of our neighborhoods. KeyBank’s commitment to help address these needs will bridge the economic inequalities experienced by our residents,” said Lou Tisler, Executive Director, Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland, Cleveland Ohio.
“Buffalo residents living on the city’s east side have been unbanked or underbanked for decades. The new branch will be an integral contribution to the future revitalization of the east side of Buffalo,” said Pastor James Giles, President, VOICE-Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
“Small businesses in Dayton are languishing for a lack of capital. The targeted small business loans to low- and moderate-income communities in this commitment will create jobs where they are most needed. I’m especially pleased that the bank will focus on micro-enterprise and partner with technical assistance providers,” said Catherine Crosby, Executive Director, City of Dayton Human Relations Council, Dayton, Ohio.
“Access to safe, affordable financial products is an inherent component of stabilizing working families who are living paycheck to paycheck. We look forward to working with the local advisory council to make this happen in the Capital Region,” said Louise McNeilly, Director, Special Projects and Community Development Alliance, Affordable Housing Partnership, Albany, NY.
“Buffalo is booming, but our neighborhoods are suffering. Keeping branches in our neighborhoods and ensuring that they have products that help people build wealth is the goal. KeyBank has shown that they are willing to work with communities and committed to put resources behind this plan. The challenge will be in maintaining the transparency and collaboration that has gotten us this far,” said John Washington, Community Organizer, PUSH Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
“This plan specifies targeted community development accompanied by technical assistance. Toledo will greatly benefit from this agreement,” said Peter Ujvagi, City Councilman, Toledo, OH.
“KeyBank’s home town is Cleveland. The revitalization of Cleveland neighborhoods depends on a strategic investment relationship between KeyBank and our neighborhood organizations. This agreement provides a blueprint for these relationships,” said Barbara Anderson, President, Another Chance of Ohio, Cleveland, OH.
In addition to NCRC and KeyBank, the agreement was signed by the following organizations:
Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Avillage
Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region
New York State Rural Housing Coalition
Affordable Housing Partnership
Empire Justice Center
United North
Casa of Oregon
Greater Rochester Community Reinvestment Coalition
PathStone
City of Dayton Human Relations Council
Miami Valley Fair Housing Center
Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland
Ohio Fair Lending Coalition
PUSH Buffalo
Housing Research & Advocacy Center
VOICE-Buffalo
Dayton YWCA
Working in Neighborhoods
Niagara Organizing Alliance for Hope
Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley
Home Repair Resource Center
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About NCRC:
NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. We work with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business development.
