Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) commended the launch of a $200 million fund by Citigroup to help spur lending to small businesses and promote economic development in low-income communities.  The Communities At Work Fund will provide financing to Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Loan Funds that lend and assist small businesses in underserved areas across the country. 

“This is a good example of how partnerships between the private and non-profit sectors can invigorate job-creating activity in communities that lack access to credit and have been the hardest hit by the economic downturn,” Frank said.  “We need more programs like this, specifically targeted to low-income areas, to insure that economic recovery happens everywhere.  I commend Citi, in partnership with the Opportunity Finance Network and the Calvert Foundation, on this important initiative.”

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