Opportunity Finance Network Issues $173 Million Bond Guarantee, Largest in Organization's History

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Oct 11, 2024, 14:15 ET

Latest bond guarantee brings OFN's total 10-year issuance to almost $900 million through the CDFI Fund's CDFI Bond Guarantee Program (BGP)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the nation's leading network and intermediary focused on community development investment, has been allocated its seventh Bond Guarantee Program (BGP) issuance for $173 million, the largest bond in the organization's history. This is part of a record-breaking $498 million of the $500 million available for this round through the CDFI Fund's CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.

Since 2014, OFN has been issued $855 million in long-term, low-cost capital bonds for 18 of its members. For the most recent issuance, OFN partnered with seven of its members on the application to ensure that the affordable capital will pass through to low-income and underinvested communities nationwide. The members include five existing and two new program participants:

"When CDFIs have access to affordable and long-term capital, so do the communities they serve," said Harold Pettigrew, President and CEO at OFN. "The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program is incredibly important to OFN members and the community development finance industry. With access to more long-term capital, CDFIs can leverage economies of scale, and reach deeper into communities to create more jobs, build more affordable housing units, and support more small businesses. OFN is committed to increasing BGP loan volume and accessibility, and with this latest issuance, I'm proud to share that we have exceeded those goals."

"Community Development Financial Institutions play an essential role to help businesses and organizations get off the ground and expand all over the country. Today's historic announcement will increase their access to capital to help realize projects that expand housing supply, grow small businesses, and ensure access to health care and child care," said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. "Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we've made access to capital a top priority and worked with the CDFI Fund to significantly expand its efforts to help all communities grow and thrive."

The BGP is a federal credit program designed to inject new and substantial capital into our nation's most underserved communities. Throughout the program's 10-year lending history, eligible CDFIs have gained access to fixed-rate, long-term capital, which can be used to finance community projects. This type of capital is rare in the industry, but incredibly impactful, enabling CDFIs to pass the long-term and low-cost capital on to their borrowers.

The seven OFN members will receive bond loans ranging from $15 million to $33 million. They will use the capital to finance rental housing, nonprofit organizations, healthcare facilities, commercial real estate, charter schools, small businesses, daycares, and other entities in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the United States.

The bond issuance is also a key milestone in achieving OFN's strategic goal of closing $200 million in bond loans during fiscal years 2022-2024. The organization has now been obligated more than $300 million in bond loans, exceeding its strategic goal by over 50%, and introduced three new participants to the program during this strategic period plan.

Learn more about how OFN partners with the public sector to finance opportunity here.

About Opportunity Finance Network

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is the nation's leading network and intermediary focused on community development investment, managing over $1 billion in total assets and a membership of nearly 450 community development financial institutions (CDFIs), which includes community development loan funds, credit unions, green banks, banks, minority depository institutions, and venture capital funds. Our network of CDFIs works to ensure communities underserved by mainstream finance have access to affordable, responsible financial products and services, with a deep focus on serving rural, urban, and Native communities across the United States. OFN is a trusted investment partner to the public, private, and philanthropic sectors – foundations, corporations, banks, government agencies, and others – and, for nearly 40 years, has helped partners invest in communities to catalyze change and create economic opportunities for all.

Since its founding in 1986, OFN members have originated over $110 billion in financing, helping to create or maintain more than 3 million jobs, start or expand more than 850,000 businesses and microenterprises, and support the development or rehabilitation of nearly 2.4 million housing units and more than 14,000 community facility projects

SOURCE Opportunity Finance Network