The five-year Community Benefits Plan will support small business lending, community development, affordable housing, and several diversity initiatives.
SAN FRANCISCO — California Reinvestment Coalition, The Greenlining Institute and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) announced today the creation of an $11 billion, five-year Community Benefits Plan (CBP) as part of SVB’s acquisition of Boston Private Bank. The acquisition was announced in January 2021 and is expected to close in mid-2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory approvals.
Under the CBP, SVB would support lending and investing in the areas of small business, community development, affordable housing, and charitable giving over five years starting in January 2022 through December 2026.
The $11 billion plan, of which $9 billion in activity is earmarked for California, includes the following commitments:
• $4 billion in small business loans of $1 million or less;
• $4 billion in CRA community development loans and investments;
• $1 billion in residential mortgages to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers and in LMI census tracts as reported on SVB’s annual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act loan application registers; and
• $60 million in charitable contributions.
Additionally, SVB plans to continue its commitment to increase management diversity within the organization and has signed on to Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s 25×25 program. SVB also agreed to develop a Supplier Diversity plan, which would expand its use of minority- and women-owned suppliers over the term of its commitment.
“This plan is a culmination of joint efforts by SVB, the Greenlining Institute, CRC and our member organizations, and grows SVB’s commitment to meeting the needs of low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color in an especially critical time, as many Californian families are either struggling to find housing or remain housed, and as small businesses weather the devastating financial impacts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a win for both SVB and our communities,” said Kevin Stein, CRC Deputy Director.
A CBP allows the public to engage in conversations with banks and regulators on how well the merging banks are meeting the needs of low- and moderate-income communities. This is measured by everything from the financing of more affordable housing to lending to small businesses.
“Thanks to the unified voice and advocacy of CRC and Greenlining members, as well as the thoughtful leadership of SVB’s CEO and senior management, we believe a true win-win plan has been created. What CRC, Greenlining, and SVB have agreed to will not only build wealth and expand access to capital for communities and businesses of color, it will benefit the bottom line of SVB by creating a stronger link to the communities that make up California’s customer base. Greenlining would also like to say a special thank you to Kevin Stein for his leadership during this process, thanks to which California’s communities will be more resourced and better served now and in the future,” said Adam Briones, Greenlining’s Senior Director of Economic Equity.
“We are heartened to see this commitment from SVB, as it stands as a potent example of the good banks can do when they partner with nonprofits and other community-based organizations. Our communities will benefit greatly from SVB’s commitment to addressing California’s housing crisis by providing residential mortgages to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers. We look forward to supporting them as they work to deliver on the potential of their promising commitment,” said Sharon Kinlaw, CRC Board Chair and Executive Director of the Fair Housing Council of the San Fernando Valley.
“As a leader in the innovation economy, we strive to use our voice and influence to help shape a better future and contribute to progress in our communities,” said Greg Becker, President and CEO of SVB Financial Group. “This proposed community benefits plan aligns with our long-held commitment to significantly contribute to our communities’ well-being. The growth of our business gives us the ability to step up more aggressively. We are intent on making a lasting impact and welcome the support of our community partners in developing this plan.”
The CRA is a federal law enacted in 1977 that encourages depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The CRA requires federal regulators to assess how well each bank fulfills its obligations to these communities, including soliciting public input on banks’ CRA performance. This information is used in evaluating applications for approval of bank mergers, charters, acquisitions, branch openings, and deposit facilities.
Read the full Community Benefits Plan.
The California Reinvestment Coalition
The California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) is the largest statewide community reinvestment coalition in the country, with over 300 member organizations across California that provide services to tens of thousands of Californians. CRC members include affordable housing developers, community development financial institutions, housing counseling agencies, small business technical assistance providers, legal services agencies, and community-based organizations.
The Greenlining Institute
Founded in 1993, The Greenlining Institute envisions a nation where communities of color thrive and race is never a barrier to economic opportunity. Because people of color will be the majority of our population by 2044, America will prosper only if communities of color prosper. Greenlining advances economic opportunity and empowerment for people of color through advocacy, community and coalition building, research, and leadership development. We work on a variety of major policy issues because economic opportunity doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Rather than seeing these issues as being in separate silos, Greenlining views them as interconnected threads in a web of opportunity.
About SVB Financial Group
For nearly 40 years, SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) and its subsidiaries have helped innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB Financial Group’s businesses, including Silicon Valley Bank, offer commercial, investment and private banking, asset management, private wealth management, brokerage and investment services and funds management services to companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture capital, and premium wine industries. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SVB Financial Group operates in centers of innovation around the world. Learn more at svb.com.
SVB Financial Group is the holding company for all business units and groups © 2021 SVB Financial Group. All rights reserved. SVB, SVB FINANCIAL GROUP, SILICON VALLEY BANK, MAKE NEXT HAPPEN NOW and the chevron device are trademarks of SVB Financial Group, used under license. Silicon Valley Bank is a member of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve System. Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial Group.
Media contact:
Brian Maxey, bmaxey@calreinvest.org, 559.286.7705
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