Rep. Cleaver Applauds Investment in Kansas City-based Community Development Financial Institutions

(Kansas City, MO) – Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen announced the deployment of more than $8.7 billion in investments through the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP), which includes awards to Holy Rosary Credit Union and Central Bancshares of Kansas City, two Kansas City-based Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI).

"Black and Brown communities were hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and those communities have faced a considerably more difficult road to recovery since March of 2020," said Congressman Cleaver. "It's critical that the federal government work toward providing much-needed financial opportunity to communities that have historically faced barriers to accessing capital, which will ensure no one is left behind as our economy continues to recover from a global pandemic. I am thankful for the Administration's investment in our local CDFIs, and I will continue pushing to ensure these essential institutions get the investment they need so communities can get the relief they deserve."

ECIP makes direct investments in banks, credit unions, and holding companies that are designated as a CDFI or a Minority Depository Institution (MDI). Holy Rosary Credit Union and Central Bancshares of Kansas City will receive funding to increase lending to small businesses and low- and moderate-income consumers in underserved areas of Kansas City.

ECIP investments were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, a bill that Congressman Cleaver supported last Congress.

More information on the ECIP program and announcement from Vice President Harris and Secretary Yellen are available here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.