BLACK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND
THE CHALLENGE
Corporations are looking to action to reduce the growing racial wealth gap by reallocating cash reserves currently parked at national banks into minority-led banks and institutions that will directly empower black communities.
Several challenges arise in mobilizing this capital, even a small portion, to minority or black led banks:
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Many MDIs do not have those assets and cannot take sizeable deposits.
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Many Black Banks need equity - Corporations do not want to take the direct exposure of placing equity into banks.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Having invested in black communities and institutions for over 40+ years, LISC leveraged its expertise to create a new treasury management product; serving the needs of this cash redistribution strategy.
The Black Economic Development Fund (BEDF) will provide deposits, bridge financing and other financing to Black-led financial institutions, anchor institutions, and businesses. This strategy will preserve capital with higher credit quality investments, provides liquidity through shorter duration investments, and achieves impact by interacting within and supplementing the current ecosystem.
This approach also allows corporations to be direct actors of investing in the black community and there has never been a better time to do so than now.
