WASHINGTON In the
first on-line edition of the award-winning Community Developments newsletter, the Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency focuses on how investments in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs)
can help fill gaps in financing for projects located in economically-distressed
communities.
Banks find that these investments add to their bottom
lines, support the revitalization of economically distressed neighborhoods, and
leverage matching funds from investment partners, said Comptroller of the
Currency John D. Hawke, Jr. The New Markets Tax Credits leverage the banks
loans and investments and help them reach underserved areas, and provide
crucial links for project success, he added.
The on-line newsletter describes national bank strategies
for using NMTCs to reach projects located in markets that might otherwise lack
financing or only find financing at too high of a cost. NMTCs offer banks an
opportunity to leverage the Federal tax credits by injecting investment capital
into projects that can help to revitalize neighborhoods.
The New Markets Tax Credit program has expanded our scope
by giving us the flexibility of using the credits in our pricing on the loan
side, making the financing more affordable, said John Kastellic, senior vice
president, Key Bank, Cleveland,
Ohio, and national manager of Community Development Lending, in a feature
article in Community Developments.
In addition to looking at bank involvement in NMTC
activities, the newsletter also highlights community development investment
opportunities across the nation identified by OCCs District Community
Affairs Officers. The on-line
newsletter can be accessed quickly by selecting Community Affairs on the
OCC Internet home page, http://www.occ.treas.gov/,
and choosing Publications and Resource Materials.
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The OCC charters, regulates and examines approximately
2,000 national banks and 51 federal branches of foreign banks in the U.S.,
accounting for more than 56 percent of the nations banking assets. Its mission
is to ensure a safe and sound and competitive national banking system that
supports the citizens, communities and economy of the United States.