Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) Inviting Applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Funding Round of the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program), 18635-18648 [2019-08787]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 1, 2019 / Notices
2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018. Preparations
are already underway for the next
census in 2020. The overall length of the
revised questionnaire for the 2020
NCFO will remain consistent with that
of previous years. These information
collections were originally approved by
OMB under Control Number 2139–0009.
The overall length of the questionnaire
for the 2020 NCFO will remain
consistent with that of previous years.
The survey will be administered to
the entire population of ferry operators
(estimate 250 or less). The survey will
request the respondents to provide
information such as: the points served;
the type of ownership; the number of
passengers and vehicles carried in the
past 12 months; vessel descriptions
(including type of fuel), federal, state
and local funding sources, and
intermodal connectivity. All data
collected in 2020 will be added to the
existing NCFO database.
Data Confidentiality Provisions: The
National Census of Ferry Operators may
collect confidential business
information. The confidentiality of these
data will be protected under 49 CFR
7.29. In accordance with this regulation,
only statistical and non-sensitive
business information will be made
available through publications and
public use data files. The statistical
public use data are intended to provide
an aggregated source of information on
ferry boat operations nationwide.
Business sensitive information may be
shared with FHWA to support FAST
Act funding allocations.
Frequency: This survey will be
updated every other year.
Estimated Average Burden per
Response: The burden per respondent is
estimated to be an average of 30
minutes. This average is based on an
estimate of 20 minutes to answer
questions that require answers specific
to that year and an additional 10
minutes to review (and revise as
needed) previously submitted data that
will be pre-populated for each ferry
operation.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: The
total annual burden (in the year that the
survey is conducted) is estimated to be
125 hours (that is 30 minutes per
respondent for 250 respondents equals
7,500 minutes).
Response to Comments: A 60-day
notice requesting public comment was
issued in the Federal Register on
February 15, 2019. No comments were
received.
Public Comments Invited: Interested
parties are invited to send comments
regarding any aspect of this information
collection, including, but not limited to:
(1) The necessity and utility of the
information collection for the proper
performance of the functions of the
DOT; (2) the accuracy of the estimated
burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, clarity and content of the
18635
collected information; and (4) ways to
minimize the collection burden without
reducing the quality of the collected
information. Send comments to the
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, 725 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: BTS
Desk Officer.
Issued in Washington, DC, on this 25th day
of April, 2019.
Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research
and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019–08822 Filed 4–30–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund
Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA)
Inviting Applications for the Fiscal
Year (FY) 2019 Funding Round of the
Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA
Program)
Announcement Type: Announcement
of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI–
2019–BEA.
Catalog Of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.021.
Dates:
TABLE 1—FY 2019 BEA PROGRAM FUNDING ROUND—KEY DATES FOR APPLICANTS
Description
Deadline
Time
(eastern
time—ET)
Grant Application Package/SF–424 Mandatory (Application for Federal Assistance) Submission Method:
Electronically via Grants.gov.
Last day to register a user and organization in AMIS ..
May 29, 2019
11:59 p.m. ET
Contact Grants.gov at 800–518–4726 or support@
grants.gov.
June 17, 2019
5:00 p.m. ET ..
June 17, 2019
5:00 p.m. ET ..
June 17, 2019
5:00 p.m. ET ..
June 17, 2019
5:00 p.m. ET ..
June 19, 2019
5:00 p.m. ET ..
CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202–653–0422 or IT Award
Management Information System (AMIS) Service
Request.1
CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202–653–0422 or IT AMIS
Service Request.2
CDFI Fund BEA Helpdesk: 202–653–0421 or BEA
AMIS Service Request.3
CCME Helpdesk: 202–653–0423 or Compliance and
Reporting AMIS Service Request.4
CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202–653–0422 or IT AMIS
Service Request.5
June 19, 2019
5:00 pm ET ....
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Last day to enter, edit or delete BEA transactions, and
verify addresses/census tracts in AMIS.
Last day to contact BEA Program Staff re: BEA Program Application materials.
Last day to contact Certification, Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation (CCME) staff.
Last day to contact IT Help Desk re. AMIS support
and submission of the FY 2019 BEA Program Electronic Application in AMIS.
FY 2019 BEA Program Electronic Application Submission Method: Electronically via AMIS.
Executive Summary:This NOFA is
issued in connection with the fiscal year
1 For Information Technology support, the
preferred method of contact is to submit a Service
Request (SR) within AMIS. For the SR, select
‘‘Technical Issues’’ from the Program drop down
menu.
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Contact information
CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202–653–0422 or IT AMIS
Service Request.6
2 Ibid.
3 For questions regarding completion of the BEA
Application materials, the preferred electronic
method of contact with the BEA Program Office is
to submit a Service Request (SR) within AMIS. For
the SR, select ‘‘BEA Application’’ from the Program
drop down menu of the Service Request.
4 For Compliance and Reporting related
questions, the preferred electronic method of
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contact is to submit a Service Request (SR) within
AMIS. For the SR, select ‘‘Compliance & Reporting’’
from the Program drop down menu of the Service
Request.
5 For Information Technology support, the
preferred method of contact is to submit a Service
Request (SR) within AMIS. For the SR, select
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 1, 2019 / Notices
(FY) 2019 funding round of the Bank
Enterprise Award Program (BEA
Program). The BEA Program is
administered by the U.S. Department of
the Treasury’s Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI
Fund). Through the BEA Program, the
CDFI Fund awards formula-based grants
to depository institutions that are
insured by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for
increasing their levels of loans,
investments, Service Activities, and
technical assistance to residents and
businesses in the most economically
Distressed Communities, and financial
assistance and technical assistance to
certified Community Development
Financial Institutions (CDFIs) through
equity investments, equity-like loans,
grants, stock purchases, loans, deposits,
and other forms of assistance, during a
specified period.
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I. Program Description
A. History: The CDFI Fund was
established by the Riegle Community
Development and Regulatory
Improvement Act of 1994 to promote
economic revitalization and community
development through investment in and
assistance to CDFIs. Since its creation in
1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more
than $3.3 billion to CDFIs, community
development organizations, and
financial institutions through the BEA
Program; the Capital Magnet Fund
Program (CMF Program), the
Community Development Financial
Institutions Program (CDFI Program),
and the Native American CDFI
Assistance Program (NACA Program). In
addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated
$54 billion in tax credit allocation
authority to Community Development
Entities through the New Markets Tax
Credit Program (NMTC Program), and
guaranteed bonds in the total amount of
$1.5 billion through the CDFI Bond
Guarantee Program.
The BEA Program complements the
community development activities of
banks and thrifts (collectively referred
to as banks for purposes of this NOFA)
by providing financial incentives to
expand investments in CDFIs and to
increase lending, investment, and
Service Activities within Distressed
Communities. Providing monetary
awards to banks for increasing their
community development activities
leverages the CDFI Fund’s dollars and
puts more capital to work in Distressed
Communities throughout the nation.
‘‘Technical Issues’’ from the Program drop down
menu of the Service Request.
6 Ibid.
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B. Authorizing Statutes and
Regulations: The BEA Program was
authorized by the Bank Enterprise
Award Act of 1991, as amended. The
regulations governing the BEA Program
can be found at 12 CFR part 1806 (the
Interim Rule). The Interim Rule
provides the evaluation criteria and
other requirements of the BEA Program.
Detailed BEA Program requirements are
also found in the application materials
associated with this NOFA (the
Application). The CDFI Fund
encourages interested parties and
Applicants to review the authorizing
statute, Interim Rule, this NOFA, the
Application, and the Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for
Federal Awards (Uniform
Requirements) for a complete
understanding of the Program.
Capitalized terms in this NOFA are
defined in the authorizing statute, the
Interim Rule, this NOFA, the
Application, or the Uniform
Requirements. Details regarding
Application content requirements are
found in the Application and related
materials. Application materials can be
found on Grants.gov and the CDFI
Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/
bea.
C. Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
(2 CFR 200): The Uniform
Administrative Requirements codify
financial, administrative, procurement,
and program management standards
that Federal award-making agencies and
Recipients must follow. When
evaluating award applications, awarding
agencies must evaluate the risks to the
program posed by each applicant, and
each applicant’s merits and eligibility.
These requirements are designed to
ensure that applicants for Federal
assistance receive a fair and consistent
review prior to an award decision. This
review will assess items such as the
Applicant’s financial stability, quality of
management systems, history of
performance, and audit findings. In
addition, the Uniform Requirements
include guidance on audit requirements
and other award requirements with
which Recipients must comply.
D. Priorities: Through the BEA
Program, the CDFI Fund specifies the
following priorities:
1. Estimated Award Amounts: The
award percentage used to derive the
estimated award amount for Applicants
that are CDFIs is three times greater than
the award percentage used to derive the
estimated award amount for Applicants
that are not CDFIs;
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2. Priority Factors: Priority Factors
will be assigned based on an
Applicant’s asset size, as described in
Section V.A.14 of this NOFA
(Application Review Information:
Priority Factors); and
3. Priority of Awards: The CDFI Fund
will rank Applicants in each category of
Qualified Activity according to the
priorities described in Section V.A.16.
of this NOFA (Application Review
Information: Award Percentages, Award
Amounts, Application Review Process,
Selection Process, Programmatic
Financial Risk, and Application
Rejection), and specifically parts V.B.2:
Selection Process, V.B.3: Programmatic
and Financial Risk, and V.B.4:
Persistent Poverty Counties.
E. Baseline Period and Assessment
Period Dates: A BEA Program Award is
based on an Applicant’s increase in
Qualified Activities from the Baseline
Period to the Assessment Period, as
reported on an individual transaction
basis in the Application. For the FY
2019 funding round, the Baseline Period
is calendar year 2017 (January 1, 2017
through December 31, 2017), and the
Assessment Period is calendar year 2018
(January 1, 2018 through December 31,
2018).
F. Funding Limitations: The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to fund, in
whole or in part, any, all, or none of the
Applications submitted in response to
this NOFA. The CDFI Fund also
reserves the right to reallocate funds
from the amount that is available
through this NOFA to other CDFI Fund
programs, or to reallocate remaining
funds to a future BEA Program funding
round, particularly if the CDFI Fund
determines that the number of awards
made through this NOFA is fewer than
projected.
G. Persistent Poverty Counties:
Pursuant to the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2019 (Pub. L.
Number 116–6), Congress mandated that
at least ten percent of the CDFI Fund’s
appropriations be directed to counties
that meet the criteria for ‘‘Persistent
Poverty’’ designation. Persistent Poverty
Counties (PPCs) are defined as any
county that has had 20 percent or more
of its population living in poverty over
the past 30 years, as measured by the
1990 and 2000 decennial censuses, and
the most recent series of 5-year data
available from the American
Community Survey from the Census
Bureau and published by the CDFI Fund
at: https://www.cdfifund.gov/
Documents/PPC%20updated%20
Oct.2017.xlsx. The tabular BEA Program
Eligibility Data, which is located on the
CDFI Fund’s website, indicates whether
a census tract also meets ‘‘Persistent
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Poverty County’’ (PPC) criteria. The
tabular BEA Program Eligibility Data
can be located by clicking on ‘‘Research
and Data’’, scrolling to ‘‘Program
Eligibility Guidance’’ and selecting
‘‘BEA Program Updated 2011–2015 ACS
Data’’, or by going to the following
hyperlink: https://www.cdfifund.gov/
Documents/BEA%20ACS_2015_
V12.xlsx. Applicants that apply under
this NOFA will be required to indicate
the minimum and maximum percentage
of the BEA Program Award that the
Applicant will commit to investing in
PPCs.
II. Federal Award Information
A. Funding Availability: The CDFI
Fund expects to award up to $25
million for the FY 2019 BEA Program
Awards round under this NOFA. The
CDFI Fund reserves the right to award
in excess of said funds under this
NOFA, provided that the appropriated
funds are available. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to impose a minimum
or maximum award amount; however,
under no circumstances will an award
be higher than $1 million for any
Recipient.
B. Types of Awards: BEA Program
Awards are made in the form of grants.
C. Anticipated Start Date and Period
of Performance: The CDFI Fund
anticipates the period of performance
for the FY 2019 funding round will
begin in the fall of calendar year 2019.
Specifically, the period of performance
begins on the Federal Award Date and
will conclude at least one (1) full year
after the Federal Award Date as further
specified in the BEA Program Award
Agreement (Award Agreement), during
which the Recipient must meet the
performance goals set forth in the
Award Agreement.
D. Eligible Activities: Eligible
Activities for the BEA Program are
referred to as Qualified Activities and
are defined in the Interim Rule to
include CDFI Related Activities,
Distressed Community Financing
Activities, and Service Activities (12
CFR 1806.103).
CDFI Related Activities (12 CFR
1806.103) means CDFI Equity and CDFI
Support Activities. CDFI Equity consists
of Equity Investments, Equity-Like
Loans, and Grants. CDFI Support
Activities includes Loans, Deposits and
Technical Assistance.
Distressed Community Financing
Activities (12 CFR 1806.103) means
Consumer Loans and Commercial Loans
and Investments. Consumer Loans
include Affordable Housing Loans;
Education Loans; Home Improvement
Loans; and Small Dollar Consumer
Loans. Commercial Loans and
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Investments includes Affordable
Housing Development Loans and related
Project Investments; Commercial Real
Estate Loans and related Project
Investments; and Small Business Loans
and related Project Investments. Service
Activities (12 CFR 1806.103) include
Deposit Liabilities, Financial Services,
Community Services, Targeted
Financial Services, and Targeted Retail
Savings/Investment Products.
When calculating BEA Program
Award amounts, the CDFI Fund will
only consider the amount of a Qualified
Activity that has been fully disbursed
or, in the case of a partially disbursed
Qualified Activity, will only consider
the amount that an Applicant
reasonably expects to disburse for a
Qualified Activity within 12 months
from the end of the Assessment Period.
Subject to the requirements outlined in
Section VI. of this NOFA, in the case of
Commercial Real Estate Loans and
related Project Investments, the total
principal amount of the transaction
must be $10 million or less to be
considered a Qualified Activity.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the CDFI
Fund, in its sole discretion, may
consider transactions with a total
principal value of over $10 million,
subject to review.
An activity funded with prior BEA
Program Award dollars, or funded to
satisfy requirements of an Award
Agreement from a prior BEA Program
award or an agreement under any CDFI
Fund program, shall not constitute a
Qualified Activity for the purposes of
calculating or receiving an award.
E. Distressed Community: A
Distressed Community must meet
certain minimum geographic area and
eligibility requirements, which are
defined in the Interim Rule at 12 CFR
1806.103 and more fully described in 12
CFR 1806.401. Applicants should use
the CDFI Fund’s Information Mapping
System (CIMS Mapping Tool) to
determine whether a Baseline Period
activity or Assessment Period activity is
located in a qualified Distressed
Community. The CIMS Mapping Tool
can be accessed through AMIS or the
CDFI Fund’s website at https://
www.cdfifund.gov/Pages/mappingsystem.aspx. The CIMS Mapping Tool
contains a step-by-step training manual
on how to use the tool. In addition,
further instructions to determine
whether an activity is located in a
qualified BEA Distressed Community
can be located at: https://
www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/
Programs/bank_enterprise_award/
Pages/apply-step.aspx#, Step1 when
selecting the BEA Program Application
CIMS3 Instructions document in the
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18637
‘‘Application Materials’’ section of the
BEA web page on the CDFI Fund’s
website. If you have any questions or
problems with accessing the CIMS
Mapping Tool, please contact the CDFI
Fund IT Help Desk by telephone at (202)
653–0300, or by IT AMIS Service
Request.
Please note that a Distressed
Community as defined by the BEA
Program is not the same as an
Investment Area as defined by the CDFI
Program, a Low-Income Community as
defined by the NMTC Program, or an
Area of Economic Distress as defined by
the CMF Program.
1. Designation of Distressed
Community by a CDFI Partner: CDFI
Partners that receive CDFI Support
Activities in the form of loans, technical
assistance or deposits from an Applicant
must be integrally involved in a
Distressed Community. Applicants must
provide evidence that each CDFI Partner
that is the recipient of CDFI Support
Activities is integrally involved in a
Distressed Community, as noted in the
Application. CDFI Partners that receive
Equity Investments, Equity-Like Loans
or grants are not required to
demonstrate Integral Involvement.
Additional information on Integral
Involvement can be found in Section V.
of this NOFA.
2. Distressed Community
Determination by a BEA Applicant:
Applicants applying for a BEA Program
Award for performing Distressed
Community Financing Activities or
Service Activities must verify that
addresses of both Baseline Period and
Assessment Period activities are in
Distressed Communities when
completing their Application.
A BEA Applicant shall determine an
area is a Distressed Community by:
a. Selecting a census tract where the
Qualified Activity occurred that meets
the minimum area and eligibility
requirements; or
b. selecting the census tract where the
Qualified Activity occurred, plus one or
more census tracts directly contiguous
to where the Qualified Activity occurred
that when considered in the aggregate,
meet the minimum area and eligibility
requirements set forth in this section.
F. Award Agreement: Each Recipient
under this NOFA must electronically
sign an Award Agreement via AMIS
prior to payment of the award proceeds
by the CDFI Fund. The Award
Agreement contains the terms and
conditions of the award. For further
information, see Section VI. of this
NOFA.
G. Use of Award: It is the policy of the
CDFI Fund that BEA Program Awards
may not be used by Recipients to
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recover overhead or Indirect Costs. The
Recipient may use up to fifteen percent
(15%) of the total BEA Program award
amount on Qualified Activities as Direct
Administrative Expenses. ‘‘Direct
Administrative Expenses’’ shall mean
Direct Costs, as described in section 2
CFR 200.413 of the Uniform
Requirements, which are incurred by
the Recipient to carry out the Qualified
Activities. Such costs must be able to be
specifically identified with the
Qualified Activities and not also
recovered as Indirect Costs. ‘‘Indirect
Costs’’ means costs or expenses defined
in accordance with section 2 CFR
200.56 of the Uniform Requirements. In
addition, the Recipient must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303, with
respect to any Direct Costs.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants: For the
purposes of this NOFA, the following
table sets forth the eligibility criteria to
receive a BEA Program award from the
CDFI Fund.
TABLE 2—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS
Criteria
Description
Eligible Applicants ................
• The depository institution holding company of an Insured Depository Institution may not apply on behalf of an
Insured Depository Institution. Applications received from depository institution holding companies will be disqualified.
• Eligible Applicants for the BEA Program must be Insured Depository Institutions, as defined in the Interim Rule.
• For the FY 2019 funding round, an Applicant must have been FDIC-insured as of the first day of the Baseline
Period, January 1, 2017, and maintain its FDIC-insured status at the time of Application to be eligible for consideration for a BEA Program Award under this NOFA.
• The depository institution holding company of an Insured Depository Institution may not apply on behalf of an
Insured Depository Institution. Applications received from depository institution holding companies will be disqualified.
• For the FY 2019 funding round, an eligible certified-CDFI Applicant is an Insured Depository Institution that was
certified as a CDFI as of December 31, 2018 and that maintains its status as a certified CDFI at the time BEA
Program Awards are announced under this NOFA. No CDFI Applicant may receive a FY 2019 BEA Program
Award if it has: (1) An application pending for assistance under the FY 2019 round of the CDFI Program; (2)
been included on the list of award Recipients under the CDFI Program award announcement within the 12month period prior to the Federal Award Date of the FY 2019 BEA Program Award Agreement; (3) been
awarded assistance from the CDFI Fund under the CDFI Program within the 12-month period prior to the Federal Award Date of the FY 2019 BEA Program Award Agreement issued by the CDFI Program; or (4) ever received assistance under the CDFI Program for the same activities for which it is seeking a FY 2019 BEA Program Award. Please note that Applicants may apply for both a CDFI Program award and a BEA Program
Award in FY 2019; however, receiving a FY 2019 or FY 2018 CDFI Program award removes an Applicant from
eligibility for a FY 2019 BEA Program Award.
• If an Applicant’s CDFI certification application was submitted to the CDFI Fund as of February 28, 2019, and
was ultimately approved by the CDFI Fund by June 15, 2019, then the Applicant’s CDFI status is considered
‘‘certified’’ for purposes of the FY 2019 BEA Program application.
• The CDFI Fund will conduct a debarment check and will not consider an Application submitted by an Applicant
(or affiliate of an Applicant) if the Applicant is delinquent on any Federal debt.
• The Do Not Pay Business Center was developed to support Federal agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through programs funded by the Federal government. The Do Not Pay
Business Center provides delinquency information to the CDFI Fund to assist with the debarment check.
CDFI Applicant .....................
Debarment/Do Not Pay
Verification.
B. Prior Award Recipients: The
previous success of an Applicant in any
of the CDFI Fund’s programs will not be
considered under this NOFA. Prior BEA
Program Award Recipients and prior
award recipients of other CDFI Fund
programs are eligible to apply under this
NOFA, except as noted in the following
table:
TABLE 3—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS WHICH ARE PRIOR RECIPIENTS
Criteria
Pending resolution of noncompliance.
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Default or Noncompliance
status.
Description
• If an Applicant (or affiliate of an Applicant) that is a prior recipient or allocatee under any CDFI Fund program:
(i) Has demonstrated it has been in noncompliance with a previous assistance agreement, award agreement,
allocation agreement, bond loan agreement, or agreement to guarantee and (ii) the CDFI Fund has yet to
make a final determination as to whether the entity is in noncompliance with or default of its previous agreement, the CDFI Fund will consider the Applicant’s Application under this NOFA pending full resolution, in the
sole determination of the CDFI Fund, of the noncompliance.
• The CDFI Fund will not consider an Application submitted by an Applicant (or Affiliate of such Applicant) that
has a previously executed assistance agreement, award agreement, bond loan agreement, or agreement to
guarantee or allocation agreement if, as of the date of the Application, (i) the CDFI Fund has made a determination that such entity is noncompliant with or in default of such previously executed agreement, and (ii) the
CDFI Fund has provided written notification that such entity is ineligible to apply for or receive any future CDFI
Fund awards or allocations. Such entities will be ineligible to submit an Application for such time period as
specified by the CDFI Fund in writing.
C. Contact the CDFI Fund:
Accordingly, Applicants that are prior
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recipients and/or allocatees under any
CDFI Fund program are advised to
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comply with requirements specified in
an assistance agreement, award
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agreement, allocation agreement, bond
loan agreement, or agreement to
guarantee. All outstanding reports and
compliance questions should be
directed to the Certification,
Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation
helpdesk by submitting a BEA
Compliance and Reporting AMIS
Service Request or by telephone at (202)
653–0423. The CDFI Fund will respond
to Applicants’ reporting, compliance, or
disbursement questions between the
hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET,
starting on the date of the publication of
this NOFA. The CDFI Fund will not
respond to Applicants’ reporting,
compliance, or disbursement telephone
calls or electronic inquiries that are
received after 5:00 p.m. ET on June 17,
2019, until after the Application
deadline. The CDFI Fund will respond
to technical issues related to AMIS
Accounts through 5:00 p.m. ET on June
19, 2019, via an IT AMIS Service
Request, email at AMIS@cdfi.treas.gov,
or by telephone at (202) 653–0422.
D. Cost sharing or matching fund
requirements: Not applicable.
IV. Application and Submission
Information
A. Address To Request an Application
Package: Application materials can be
found on Grants.gov and the CDFI
Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/
bea. Applicants may request a paper
version of any Application material by
contacting the CDFI Fund Help Desk at
cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov.
B. Content and Form of Application
Submission: All Application materials
must be prepared using the English
language and calculations must be made
in U.S. dollars. Applicants must submit
all materials described in and required
by the Application by the applicable
deadlines. Detailed Application content
requirements including instructions
related to the submission of the Grant
Application Package in Grants.gov and
the FY 2019 BEA Program Application
in AMIS, the CDFI Fund’s web-based
portal, are provided in detail in the
Application Instructions. Once an
Application is submitted, the Applicant
will not be allowed to change any
element of the Application. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to request and
review other pertinent or public
information that has not been
specifically requested in this NOFA or
the Application.
C. Application Submission: The CDFI
Fund has a two-step submission process
for BEA Applications that requires the
submission of required application
information on two separate deadlines
and in two separate and distinct
systems, Grants.gov and the CDFI
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Jkt 247001
Fund’s AMIS. The first step is the
submission of the Grant Application,
which consists solely of the Office of
Management and Budget Standard
Form–424 Mandatory (SF–424
Mandatory) Application for Federal
Assistance, in Grants.gov. The second
step is to submit an FY 2019 BEA
Program Application in AMIS.
D. Grants.gov: Applicants must be
registered with Grants.gov to submit the
Grants Application Package. The Grants
Application Package consists of one
item, the SF–424 Mandatory. In order to
register with Grants.gov, Applicants
must have a DUNS number and have an
active registration with SAM.gov. The
CDFI Fund strongly encourages
Applicants to start the Grants.gov
registration process as soon as possible
(refer to the following link: https://
www.grants.gov/web/grants/
register.html) as it may take several
weeks to complete. Applicants that have
previously registered with Grants.gov
must verify that their registration is
current and active. Applicants should
contact Grants.gov directly with
questions related to the registration or
submission process as the CDFI Fund
does not administer or maintain this
system.
Applicants are required to submit a
Grant Application Package in Grants.gov
and have it validated by the Grants.gov
submission deadline of May 29, 2019.
The Grant Application Package is
validated by Grants.gov after the
Applicant’s initial submission and it
may take Grants.gov up to 48 hours to
complete the validation process.
Therefore, the CDFI Fund encourages
Applicants to submit the Grant
Application Package as early as
possible. This will help to ensure that
the Grant Application Package is
validated before the Grants.gov
submission deadline and provide time
for Applicants to contact Grants.gov
directly to resolve any submission
issues since the CDFI Fund does not
administer or maintain that system. For
more information about Grants.gov,
please visit https://www.grants.gov and
see Table 8 for Grants.gov contact
information.
The CDFI Fund can only
electronically retrieve validated Grant
Application Packages from Grants.gov
and therefore only considers the
submission of the Grant Application
Package to be successful when it has
been validated by Grants.gov before the
submission deadline. It is the
Applicant’s sole responsibility to ensure
that its Grant Application Package is
submitted and validated by Grants.gov
before the submission deadline.
Applicants that do not successfully
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18639
submit their Grant Application Package
and have it validated by the Grants.gov
submission deadline will not be able to
submit a FY 2019 BEA Program
Application in AMIS. The CDFI Fund
will electronically retrieve validated
Grant Application Packages from
Grants.gov on a daily basis. Applicants
are advised that it will take up to 48
hours from when the CDFI Fund
retrieves the validated Grant
Application Package for it to be
available in AMIS to associate with a FY
2019 BEA Program Application.
Once the CDFI Fund has retrieved the
validated Grant Application Package
from Grants.gov and made it available in
AMIS, Applicants must associate it with
their Application. Applicants can begin
working on their FY 2019 BEA Program
Application in AMIS at any time,
however, they will not be able to submit
the application until the validated Grant
Application Package is associated, by
the Applicant, with the application.
Applicants are advised that the CDFI
Fund will not notify them when the
validated Grant Application Package has
been retrieved from Grants.gov or when
it is available in AMIS. It is the
Applicant’s responsibility to ensure that
the validated SF–424 Mandatory is
associated with its FY 2019 BEA
Application in AMIS. Applicants will
not be able to submit their FY 2019 BEA
Program Application without
completing this step.
Applicants are advised that the
lookup function in the FY 2019 BEA
Application in AMIS, uses the DUNS
number reported on the validated Grant
Application Package to match it with
the correct AMIS Organization account.
Therefore, Applicants must make sure
the DUNS number included in the Grant
Application Package submitted in
Grants.gov matches the DUNS number
in their AMIS Organization account. If,
for example, the DUNS number does not
match because the Applicant
inadvertently used the DUNS number of
their Bank Holding Company on the
Grant Application Package in Grants.gov
and is attempting to associate with
AMIS Organization account of their
FDIC-Insured Bank subsidiary, the
lookup function will not return any
results and the Applicant will not be
able to submit the FY 2019 BEA
Application.
Applicants are also highly encouraged
to provide EIN, Authorized
Representative and/or Contact Person
information on the Grant Application
Package that matches the information
included in AMIS Organization account.
E. Dun & Bradstreet Universal
Numbering System (DUNS): Pursuant to
the Uniform Administrative
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Requirements, each Applicant must
provide, as part of its Application
submission, a Dun and Bradstreet
Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number. Applicants without a DUNS
number will not be able to submit a
Grant Application Package in
Grants.gov. Applicants should allow
sufficient time for Dun & Bradstreet to
respond to inquiries and/or requests for
DUNS numbers.
F. System for Award Management
(SAM): An active SAM account is
required to submit the required Grant
Application Package in Grants.gov. Any
entity applying for Federal grants or
other forms of Federal financial
assistance through Grants.gov must be
registered in SAM in order to submit its
Grant Application Package in Grants.gov
or FY 2019 BEA Program Application in
AMIS. When accessing SAM.gov, users
will be asked to create a login.gov user
account (if they don’t already have one).
Going forward, users will use their
login.gov username and password every
time when logging in to SAM.gov.
Applicants must have established an
active SAM.gov account no later than 30
days after the release of this NOFA. The
SAM registration process can take three
weeks or longer to complete so
Applicants are strongly encouraged to
begin the registration process upon
release of this NOFA in order to avoid
potential application submission
problems. Applicants that have
previously completed the SAM
registration process must verify that
their SAM accounts are current and
active. Applicants are advised to
complete the SAM.gov process at least
48 hours in advance of the Grants
Application Package deadline.
Applicants are required to maintain a
current and active SAM account at all
times during which it has an active
Federal award or an Application under
consideration for an award by a Federal
awarding agency.
An original, signed notarized letter
identifying the authorized Entity
Administrator for the entity associated
with the DUNS number is required by
SAM and must be mailed to the Federal
Service Desk. This requirement is
applicable to new entities registering in
SAM, as well as existing entities with
registrations being updated or renewed
in SAM. Additional information on the
notarized letter process can be located
at: https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/
organization/federal-acquisitionservice/office-of-systems-management/
integrated-award-environment-iae/samupdate-updated-july-11-2018.
The CDFI Fund will not consider any
Applicant that fails to properly register
or activate its SAM account and, as a
result, is unable to submit its Grant
Application Package in Grants.gov, or
FY 2019 BEA Program Application in
AMIS by the respective deadlines.
Applicants must contact SAM directly
with questions related to SAM
registration or account changes as the
CDFI Fund does not administer or
maintain this system. For more
information about SAM, please visit
https://www.sam.gov or call 866–606–
8220.
G. AMIS: All Applicants must
complete an FY 2019 BEA Program
Application in AMIS, the CDFI Fund’s
web-based portal. All Applicants must
register User and Organization accounts
in AMIS by June 17, 2019. In addition,
all BEA transactions must be finalized
in AMIS by June 17, 2019; this includes
address/census tract verification. No
transactions can be added, edited, or
deleted after this deadline. Failure to
register and complete a FY 2019 BEA
Program Application in AMIS in
accordance with the deadlines noted in
Table 1: FY 2019 BEA Program Funding
Round—Key Dates for Applicants will
result in the CDFI Fund being unable to
accept the Application. As AMIS is the
CDFI Fund’s primary means of
communication with Applicants and
Recipients, institutions must make sure
that they update their contact
information in their AMIS accounts. In
addition, the Applicant should ensure
that the institution information (name,
EIN, DUNS number, Authorized
Representative, contact information,
etc.) on the Grant Application Package
submitted as part of the Grant
Application Package in Grants.gov
matches the information in AMIS. EINs
and DUNS numbers in the Applicant’s
SAM account must match those listed in
AMIS. For more information on AMIS,
please see the information available
through the AMIS Home page at https://
amis.cdfifund.gov. Qualified Activity
documentation and other attachments as
specified in the applicable BEA Program
Application must also be submitted
electronically via AMIS. Detailed
instructions regarding submission of
Qualified Activity documentation is
provided in the Application Instructions
and AMIS Training Manual for the BEA
Program Application. Applicants will
not be allowed to submit missing
Qualified Activity documentation after
the BEA Transactions deadline and any
Qualified Activity missing the required
documentation will be disqualified.
Qualified Activity documentation
delivered by hard copy to the CDFI
Fund’s Washington, DC office address
will be rejected, unless the Applicant
previously requested a paper version of
the Application as described in Section
IV.A.
H. Submission Dates and Times: The
following table provides the critical
deadlines for the FY 2019 BEA Funding
Round. Applications and any other
required documents or attachments
received after the applicable deadline
will be rejected. The document
submission deadlines stated in this
NOFA and the Application are strictly
enforced. The CDFI Fund will not grant
exceptions or waivers for late
submissions except where the
submission delay was a direct result of
a Federal government administrative or
technological error.
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TABLE 4—CRITICAL DEADLINES FOR FY 2019 BEA FUNDING ROUND
Description
Deadline
Time
(eastern time)
Grant Application Package/SF–424 Mandatory, Submission Method: Electronically via Grants.gov ....................
FY 2019 BEA Program Application, Submission Method: Electronically via AMIS ................................................
May 29, 2019
June 19, 2019
11:59 p.m. ET.
5:00 pm ET.
1. Confirmation of Application
Submission: Applicants may verify that
their Grant Application Package was
successfully submitted and validated in
Grants.gov and that their FY 2019 BEA
Program Application was successfully
submitted in AMIS. Applicants should
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note that the Grant Application Package
consists solely of the SF–424 Mandatory
and has a different deadline than the FY
2019 BEA Program Application. These
deadlines are provided above in Table 4.
FY 2019 BEA Program Funding Round
Critical Deadlines for Applicants. If the
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Grant Application Package is not
successfully submitted and
subsequently validated by Grants.gov by
the deadline, the CDFI Fund will not
review the FY 2019 BEA Program
Application or any of the application
related material submitted in AMIS and
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the Application will be deemed
ineligible.
a. Grants.gov Submission Information:
In order to determine whether the Grant
Application Package was submitted
properly, each Applicant should: (1)
Receive two separate emails from
Grants.gov, and (2) perform an
independent step in Grants.gov to
determine whether the Grant
Application was validated. Each
Applicant will receive the first email
from Grants.gov immediately after the
Grant Application Package is submitted
confirming that the submission has
entered the Grants.gov system. This
email will contain a tracking number.
Within 48 hours, the Applicant will
receive a second email which will
indicate if the submitted Grant
Application Package was successfully
validated or rejected with errors.
However, Applicants should not rely on
the second email notification from
Grants.gov to confirm that the Grant
Application Package was validated.
Instead, Applicants should then perform
an independent step in Grants.gov to
determine if the Grant Application
Package status shows as ‘‘Validated’’ by
clicking on the ‘‘Applicants’’ menu,
followed by clicking ‘‘Track my
Application,’’ and then entering the
tracking number provided in the first
email. The Grant Application Package
cannot be retrieved by the CDFI Fund
until it has been validated by
Grants.gov.
b. AMIS Submission Information:
AMIS is the web-based portal where
Applicants will directly enter their
application information and add
supporting documentation, when
applicable. The CDFI Fund strongly
encourages the Applicant to allow
sufficient time to confirm the
Application content, review the material
submitted, and remedy any issues prior
to the BEA Transactions deadline. Only
the Authorized Representative or an
Application Point of Contact can submit
the FY 2019 BEA Program Application
in AMIS on the Application deadline.
Applicants will not receive an email
confirming that their FY 2019 BEA
Program Application was successfully
submitted in AMIS. Instead, Applicants
should check their AMIS account to
ensure that the status of the FY 2019
BEA Program Application shows
‘‘Under Review’’. Step-by-step
instructions for submitting an FY 2019
BEA Program Application in AMIS are
provided in the Application
Instructions, Supplemental Guidance,
and AMIS Training Manual for the BEA
Program Electronic Application.
2. Multiple Application Submissions:
If an Applicant submits multiple
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versions of its Grant Application
Package in Grants.gov, the Applicant
can only associate one with its FY 2019
BEA Program Application in AMIS.
Applicants can only submit one FY
2019 BEA Program Application in
AMIS. Upon submission, the
Application will be locked and cannot
be resubmitted, edited, or modified in
any way. The CDFI Fund will not
unlock a submitted Application or allow
multiple Application submissions.
3. Late Submission: The CDFI Fund
will not accept an SF–424 Mandatory in
Grants.gov or an FY 2019 BEA Program
Application in AMIS if it is not signed
by an Authorized Representative or
submitted after the respective deadlines.
In either case, the CDFI Fund will not
review any material submitted, and the
Application will be deemed ineligible,
except where the submission delay was
a direct result of a Federal government
administrative or technological error.
This exception includes any errors
associated with Grants.gov, SAM.gov,
AMIS or any other applicable
government system. Please note that this
exception does not apply to errors
arising from obtaining a DUNS number
from Dun & Bradstreet, which is not a
government entity. An Applicant unable
to make timely submission of its
Application due to any errors in the
process of obtaining a DUNS number
will not be allowed to submit its
Application after the Application
deadline has passed. In such case, the
Applicant must submit their request for
acceptance of a late Application
submission to the BEA Program Office
via an AMIS Service Request with
documentation that clearly
demonstrates the error by no later than
two business days after the applicable
Application deadline for Grants.gov or
AMIS. The CDFI Fund will not respond
to a request for acceptance of late
Application submissions after that time
period. The AMIS Service Request must
be directed to the BEA Program with a
subject line of ‘‘FY 2019 BEA Late
Application Submission Request.’’
I. Funding Restrictions: BEA Program
Awards are limited by the following:
1. The Recipient shall use BEA
Program Award funds only for the
eligible activities described in Section
II. D. of this NOFA and its Award
Agreement.
2. The Recipient may not distribute
BEA Program Award funds to an
affiliate, Subsidiary, or any other entity,
without the CDFI Fund’s prior written
approval.
3. BEA Program Award funds shall
only be disbursed to the Recipient.
4. The CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, may disburse BEA Program
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18641
Award funds in amounts, or under
terms and conditions, which are
different from those requested by an
Applicant.
J. Other Submission Requirements:
None.
V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria: If the Applicant submitted
a complete and eligible Application, the
CDFI Fund will conduct a substantive
review in accordance with the criteria
and procedures described in the
Regulations, this NOFA, the Application
guidance, and the Uniform
Requirements. The CDFI Fund reserves
the right to contact the Applicant by
telephone, email, or mail for the sole
purpose of clarifying or confirming
Application information. If contacted,
the Applicant must respond within the
time period communicated by the CDFI
Fund or run the risk that its Application
will be rejected.
1. CDFI Related Activities: CDFI
Related Activities include Equity
Investments, Equity-Like Loans, and
CDFI Support Activities provided to
eligible CDFI Partners.
2. Eligible CDFI Partner: CDFI Partner
is defined as a certified CDFI that has
been provided assistance in the form of
CDFI Related Activities by an
unaffiliated Applicant (12 CFR
1806.103). For the purposes of this
NOFA, an eligible CDFI Partner must
have been certified as a CDFI as of the
date that the BEA Applicant made its
investment or provided support, and be
Integrally Involved in a Distressed
Community (if the BEA Applicant
provided CDFI Support Activities to the
CDFI Partner).
3. Integrally Involved: Integrally
Involved is defined at 12 CFR 1806.103.
For purposes of this NOFA, in order for
an Applicant to report CDFI Support
Activities in its Application, the CDFI
Partner which received the support
must be deemed to be Integrally
Involved by demonstrating it has: (i)
Provided at least 10 percent of the
number of its financial transactions or
dollars transacted (e.g., loans or Equity
Investments), or 10 percent of the
number of its Development Service
Activities (as defined in 12 CFR
1805.104) or value of the administrative
cost of providing such services, in one
or more Distressed Communities
identified by the CDFI Partner, in each
of the three calendar years preceding the
date of this NOFA; (ii) transacted at
least 25 percent of the number of its
financial transactions or dollars
transacted (e.g., loans or equity
investments) in one or more Distressed
Communities in at least one of the three
calendar years preceding the date of this
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NOFA, or 25 percent of the number of
its Development Service Activities (as
defined in 12 CFR 1805.104) or value of
the administrative cost of providing
such services, in one or more Distressed
Communities identified by the CDFI
Partner, in at least one of the three
calendar years preceding the date of this
NOFA; (iii) demonstrated that it has
attained at least 10 percent of market
share for a particular financial product
in one or more Distressed Communities
(such as home mortgages originated in
one or more Distressed Communities) in
at least one of the three calendar years
preceding the date of this NOFA; or (iv)
at least 25 percent of the CDFI Partner’s
physical locations (e.g., offices or
branches) are located in one or more
Distressed Communities where it
provided financial transactions or
Development Service Activities during
the one calendar year preceding the date
of the NOFA.
4. Limitations on eligible Qualified
Activities provided to certain CDFI
Partners: A CDFI Applicant cannot
receive credit for any financial
assistance or Qualified Activities
provided to a CDFI Partner that is also
an FDIC-insured depository institution
or depository institution holding
company.
5. Certificates of Deposit: Section
1806.103 of the Interim Rule states that
any certificate of deposit (CD) placed by
an Applicant or its Subsidiary in a CDFI
Partner that is a bank, thrift, or credit
union must be: (i) Uninsured and
committed for at least three years; or (ii)
insured, committed for a term of at least
three years, and provided at an interest
rate that is materially below market
rates, in the determination of the CDFI
Fund.
a. For purposes of this NOFA,
‘‘materially below market interest rate’’
is defined as an annual percentage rate
that does not exceed the yields on
Treasury securities at constant maturity
as interpolated by Treasury from the
daily yield curve and available on the
Treasury website at www.treas.gov/
offices/domestic-finance/debtmanagement/interest-rate/yield.shtml.
For example, for a three-year CD,
Applicants should use the three-year
rate U.S. Government securities,
Treasury Yield Curve Rate posted for
that business day. The Treasury updates
the website daily at approximately 5:30
p.m. ET. CDs placed prior to that time
may use the rate posted for the previous
business day. The annual percentage
rate on a CD should be compounded
daily, quarterly, semi-annually, or
annually. If a variable interest rate is
used, the CD must also have an interest
rate that is materially below the market
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interest rate over the life of the CD, in
the determination of the CDFI Fund.
b. For purposes of this NOFA, a
deposit placed by an Applicant directly
with a CDFI Partner that participates in
a deposit network or service may be
treated as eligible under this NOFA if it
otherwise meets the criteria for deposits
in 12 CFR.1806.103 and the CDFI
Partner retains the full amount of the
initial deposit or an amount equivalent
to the full amount of the initial deposit
through a deposit network exchange
transaction.
6. Equity Investment: An Equity
Investment means financial assistance
provided by an Applicant or its
Subsidiary to a CDFI, which CDFI meets
such criteria as set forth in this NOFA,
in the form of a grant, a stock purchase,
a purchase of a partnership interest, a
purchase of a limited liability company
membership interest, or any other
investment deemed to be an Equity
Investment by the CDFI Fund.
7. Equity-Like Loan: An Equity-Like
Loan is a loan provided by an Applicant
or its Subsidiary to a CDFI, and made
on such terms that it has characteristics
of an Equity Investment, as such
characteristics may be specified by the
CDFI Fund (12 CFR 1806.103). For
purposes of this NOFA, an Equity-Like
Loan must meet the following
characteristics:
a. At the end of the initial term, the
loan must have a definite rolling
maturity date that is automatically
extended on an annual basis if the CDFI
borrower continues to be financially
sound and carry out a community
development mission;
b. Periodic payments of interest and/
or principal may only be made out of
the CDFI borrower’s available cash flow
after satisfying all other obligations;
c. Failure to pay principal or interest
(except at maturity) will not
automatically result in a default of the
loan agreement; and
d. The loan must be subordinated to
all other debt except for other EquityLike Loans.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
CDFI Fund reserves the right to
determine, in its sole discretion and on
a case-by-case basis, whether an
instrument meets the above-stated
characteristics of an Equity-Like Loan.
8. CDFI Support Activity: A CDFI
Support Activity is defined as assistance
provided by an Applicant or its
Subsidiary to a CDFI that is Integrally
Involved in a Distressed Community, in
the form of a loan, Technical Assistance,
or deposits.
9. CDFI Program Matching Funds:
Equity Investments, Equity-Like Loans,
and CDFI Support Activities (except
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Technical Assistance) provided by a
BEA Applicant to a CDFI and used by
the CDFI for matching funds under the
CDFI Program are eligible as a Qualified
Activity under the CDFI Related
Activity category.
10. Commercial Loans and
Investments: Commercial Loans and
Investments is a sub-category of
Distressed Community Financing
Activities and is defined as the
following lending activity types:
Affordable Housing Development Loans
and related Project Investments;
Commercial Real Estate Loans and
related Project Investments; and Small
Business Loans and related Project
Investments.
11. Consumer Loans: Consumer Loans
is a sub-category of Distressed
Community Financing Activities and is
defined as the following lending activity
types: Affordable Housing Loans;
Education Loans; Home Improvement
Loans; and Small Dollar Consumer
Loans.
12. Distressed Community Financing
Activities and Service Activities:
Distressed Community Financing
Activities comply with consumer
protection laws and are defined as (1)
Consumer Loans; or (2) Commercial
Loans and Investments. In addition to
the requirements set forth in the Interim
Rule, this NOFA provides the following
additional requirements:
a. Affordable Housing Development
Loans and Related Project Investments:
For purposes of this NOFA, eligible
Affordable Housing Development Loans
and related Project Investments do not
include housing for students, or school
dormitories. In addition, for such
transactions, Applicants will be
required to provide supporting
documentation that demonstrates that at
least 60 percent of the units in the
property financed are or will be sold or
rented to Eligible Residents who meet
Low-and-Moderate-income
requirements, as noted in the
Application instructions.
b. Commercial Real Estate Loans and
related Project Investments: For
purposes of this NOFA, eligible
Commercial Real Estate Loans (12 CFR
1806.103) and related Project
Investments are generally limited to
transactions with a total principal value
of $10 million or less. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, may consider transactions
with a total principal value of over $10
million, subject to review. For such
transactions, Applicants must provide a
separate narrative, or other information,
to demonstrate that the proposed project
offers, or significantly enhances the
quality of, a facility or service not
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currently provided to the Distressed
Community.
c. Small Dollar Consumer Loan: For
purposes of this NOFA, eligible Small
Dollar Consumer Loans are affordable
loans that serve as available alternatives
to the marketplace for individuals who
are Eligible Residents with a total
principal value of no less than $500 and
no greater than $5,000 and have a term
of ninety (90) days or more.
d. Distressed Community Financing
Activities—Transactions Less Than
$250,000: For purposes of this NOFA,
Applicants are expected to maintain
records for any transaction submitted as
part of the FY 2019 BEA Program
Application, including supporting
documentation for transactions in the
Distressed Community Financing
Activity category of less than $250,000.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to
request supporting documentation from
an Applicant during its Application
Review process for a Distressed
Community Financing Activities
transaction less than $250,000.
e. Low- and Moderate-Income
residents: For the purposes of this
NOFA, Low-Income means borrower
income that does not exceed 80 percent
of the area median income, and
Moderate-Income means borrower
income may be 81 percent to no more
than 120 percent of the area median
income, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau data.
13. Reporting Certain Financial
Services: The CDFI Fund will value the
administrative cost of providing certain
Financial Services using the following
per unit values:
a. $100.00 per account for Targeted
Financial Services including safe
transaction accounts, youth transaction
accounts, Electronic Transfer Accounts
and Individual Development Accounts;
b. $50.00 per account for checking
and savings accounts that do not meet
the definition of Targeted Financial
Services;
c. $5.00 per check cashing
transaction;
d. $50,000 per new ATM installed at
a location in a Distressed Community;
e. $500,000 per new retail bank
branch office opened in a Distressed
Community, including school-based
bank branches approved by the
Applicant’s Federal bank regulator;
f. In the case of Applicants engaging
in Financial Services activities not
described above, the CDFI Fund will
determine the unit value of such
services;
g. When reporting the opening of a
new retail bank branch office, the
Applicant must certify that such new
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branch is intended to remain in
operation for at least the next five years;
h. Financial Service Activities must
be provided by the Applicant to Eligible
Residents or enterprises that are located
in a Distressed Community. An
Applicant may determine the number of
Eligible Residents who are recipients of
Financial Services by either: (i)
Collecting the addresses of its Financial
Services customers, or (ii) certifying that
the Applicant reasonably believes that
such customers are Eligible Residents or
enterprises located in a Distressed
Community and providing a brief
analytical narrative with information
describing how the Applicant made this
determination. Citations must be
provided for external sources. In
addition, if external sources are
referenced in the narrative, the
Applicant must explain how it reached
the conclusion that the cited references
are directly related to the Eligible
Residents or enterprises to whom it is
claiming to have provided the Financial
Services; and
i. When reporting changes in the
dollar amount of deposit accounts, only
calculate the net change in the total
dollar amount of eligible Deposit
Liabilities between the Baseline Period
and the Assessment Period. Do not
report each individual deposit. If the net
change between the Baseline Period and
Assessment Period is a negative dollar
amount, then a negative dollar amount
may be recorded for Deposit Liabilities
only. Instructions for determining the
net change is available in the FY 2019
BEA Program Application in AMIS.
14. Priority Factors: Priority Factors
are the numeric values assigned to
individual types of activity within: (i)
The Distressed Community Financing
Activities, and (ii) Services Activities
categories of Qualified Activities. For
the purposes of this NOFA, Priority
Factors will be based on the Applicant’s
asset size as of the end of the
Assessment Period (December 31, 2018)
as reported by the Applicant in the
Application. Asset size classes (i.e.,
small institutions, intermediate-small
institutions, and large institutions) will
correspond to the Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) asset size
classes set by the three Federal bank
regulatory agencies and that were
effective as of the end of the Assessment
Period. The Priority Factor works by
multiplying the change in a Qualified
Activity by the assigned Priority Factor
to achieve a ‘‘weighted value.’’ This
weighted value of the change would be
multiplied by the applicable Award
percentage to yield the Award amount
for that particular activity. For purposes
of this NOFA, the CDFI Fund is
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establishing Priority Factors based on
Applicant asset size to be applied to all
activity types within the Distressed
Community Financing Activities and
Service Activities categories only, as
follows:
TABLE 5—CRA ASSET SIZE
CLASSIFICATION
Priority factor
Small institutions (assets of
less than $321 million as
of 12/31/2018) ...................
Intermediate—small institutions (assets of at least
$321 million but less than
$1.284 billion as of 12/31/
2018) .................................
Large institutions (assets of
$1.284 billion or greater as
of 12/31/2018) ...................
5.0
3.0
1.0
15. Certain Limitations on Qualified
Activities:
a. Low-Income Housing Tax Credits:
Financial assistance provided by an
Applicant for which the Applicant
receives benefits through Low-Income
Housing Tax Credits, authorized
pursuant to Section 42 of the Internal
Revenue Code, as amended (26 U.S.C.
42), shall not constitute an Equity
Investment, Project Investment, or other
Qualified Activity, for the purposes of
calculating or receiving a BEA Program
Award.
b. New Markets Tax Credits: Financial
assistance provided by an Applicant for
which the Applicant receives benefits as
an investor in a Community
Development Entity that has received an
allocation of New Markets Tax Credits,
authorized pursuant to Section 45D of
the Internal Revenue Code, as amended
(26 U.S.C. 45D), shall not constitute an
Equity Investment, Project Investment,
or other Qualified Activity, for the
purposes of calculating or receiving a
BEA Program Award. Leverage loans
used in New Markets Tax Credit
structured transactions that meet the
requirements outlined in this NOFA are
considered Distressed Community
Financing Activities. The application
materials will provide further guidance
on requirements for BEA transactions
which were leverage loans used in a
New Markets Tax Credit structured
transaction.
c. Loan Renewals and Refinances:
Financial assistance provided by an
Applicant shall not constitute a
Qualified Activity, as defined in this
part, for the purposes of calculating or
receiving a BEA Program Award if such
financial assistance consists of a loan to
a borrower that has matured and is then
renewed by the Applicant, or consists of
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a loan to a borrower that is retired or
restructured using the proceeds of a new
commitment by the Applicant.
d. Certain Business Types: Financial
assistance provided by an Applicant
shall not constitute a Qualified Activity,
as defined in this part, for the purposes
of financing the following business
types: adult entertainment providers,
golf courses, race tracks, gambling
facilities, country clubs, facilities
offering massage services, hot tub
facilities, suntan facilities, or stores
where the principal business is the sale
of alcoholic beverages for consumption
off premises.
e. Prior BEA Program Awards:
Qualified Activities funded with prior
funding round BEA Program Award
dollars or funded to satisfy requirements
of the BEA Program Award Agreement
shall not constitute a Qualified Activity
for the purposes of calculating or
receiving a BEA Program Award.
f. Prior CDFI Fund Awards: No
Applicant may receive a BEA Program
Award for the same activities funded by
another CDFI Fund program or Federal
program.
16. Award Percentages, Award
Amounts, Application Review Process,
Selection Process, Programmatic and
Financial Risk, and Application
Rejection: The Interim Rule and this
NOFA describe the process for selecting
Applicants to receive a BEA Program
Award and determining Award
amounts.
a. Award percentages: In the CDFI
Related Activities subcategory of CDFI
Equity, for all Applicants, the estimated
award amount will be equal to 18
percent of the increase in Qualified
Activities reported in this subcategory.
In the CDFI Related Activities
subcategory of CDFI Support Activities,
for a certified CDFI Applicant, the
estimated award amount will be equal
to 18 percent of the increase in
Qualified Activities in this subcategory.
If an Applicant is not a certified CDFI,
the estimated award amount will be
equal to 6 percent of the increase in
Qualified Activities in this subcategory.
In Distressed Community Financing
Activities’ subcategory of Consumer
Lending, the estimated award amount
for certified CDFI Applicants will be 18
percent of the weighted value of the
increase in Qualified Activities in this
subcategory. If an Applicant is not a
certified CDFI Applicant, the estimated
award amount will be equal to 6 percent
of the weighted value of the increase in
Qualified Activities in this subcategory.
In the Distressed Community
Financing Activities subcategory of
Commercial Lending and Investments,
for a certified CDFI Applicant, the
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estimated award amount will be equal
to 9 percent of the weighted value of the
increase in Qualified Activities in this
subcategory. If an Applicant is not a
certified CDFI, the estimated award
amount will be equal to 3 percent of the
weighted value of the increase in
Qualified Activity in this subcategory.
In the Service Activities category, for
a certified CDFI Applicant, the
estimated award amount will be equal
to 9 percent of the weighted value of the
increase in Qualified Activity for the
category. If an Applicant is not a
certified CDFI, the estimated award
amount will be equal to 3 percent of the
weighted value of the increase in
Qualified Activity for the category.
b. Award Amounts: An Applicant’s
estimated award amount will be
calculated according to the procedure
outlined in the Interim Rule (at 12 CFR
1806.403). As outlined in the Interim
Rule at 12 CFR 1806.404, the CDFI Fund
will determine actual Award amounts
based on the availability of funds,
increases in Qualified Activities from
the Baseline Period to the Assessment
Period, and the priority ranking of each
Applicant.
In calculating the increase in
Qualified Activities, the CDFI Fund will
determine the eligibility of each
transaction for which an Applicant has
applied for a BEA Program Award. In
some cases, the actual award amount
calculated by the CDFI Fund may not be
the same as the estimated award amount
requested by the Applicant.
For purposes of calculating award
payment amounts, the CDFI Fund will
treat Qualified Activities with a total
principal amount less than or equal to
$250,000 as fully disbursed. For all
other Qualified Activities, Recipients
will have 12 months from the end of the
Assessment Period to make
disbursements and 15 months from the
end of the Assessment Period to submit
to the CDFI Fund disbursement requests
for the corresponding portion of their
awards, after which the CDFI Fund will
rescind and de-obligate any outstanding
award balance and said outstanding
award balance will no longer be
available to the Recipient.
B. Review and Selection Process:
1. Application Review Process: All
Applications will be initially evaluated
by external non-Federal reviewers.
Reviewers are selected based on their
experience in understanding various
financial transactions, reading and
interpreting financial documentation,
strong written communication skills,
and strong mathematical skills.
Reviewers must complete the CDFI
Fund’s conflict of interest process and
be approved by the CDFI Fund.
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2. Selection Process: If the amount of
funds available during the funding
round is insufficient for all estimated
Award amounts, Recipients will be
selected based on the process described
in the Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1806.404.
This process gives funding priority to
Applicants that undertake activities in
the following order: (i) CDFI Related
Activities, (ii) Distressed Community
Financing Activities, and (iii) Service
Activities, as described in the Interim
Rule at 12 CFR 1806.404(c).
Within each category, CDFI
Applicants will be ranked first
according to the ratio of the actual
award amount calculated by the CDFI
Fund for the category to the total assets
of the Applicant, followed by
Applicants that are not CDFI Applicants
according to the ratio of the actual
award amount calculated by the CDFI
Fund for the category to the total assets
of the Applicant.
Selections within each priority
category will be based on the
Applicants’ relative rankings within
each such category, subject to the
availability of funds and any established
maximum dollar amount of total awards
that may be awarded for the Distressed
Community Financing Activities
category of Qualified Activities, as
determined by the CDFI Fund.
The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion:
(i) May adjust the estimated award
amount that an Applicant may receive;
(ii) may establish a maximum amount
that may be awarded to an Applicant;
and (iii) reserves the right to limit the
amount of an award to any Applicant if
the CDFI Fund deems it appropriate.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to
contact the Applicant to confirm or
clarify information. If contacted, the
Applicant must respond within the
CDFI Fund’s time parameters or the
Application may be rejected.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to
change its eligibility and evaluation
criteria and procedures. If those changes
materially affect the CDFI Fund’s award
decisions, the CDFI Fund will provide
information regarding the changes
through the CDFI Fund’s website.
3. Programmatic and Financial Risk:
The CDFI Fund will consider safety and
soundness information from the
appropriate Federal bank regulatory
agency as defined in Section 3 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12
U.S.C. 1813(q)). If the appropriate
Federal bank regulatory agency
identifies safety and soundness
concerns, the CDFI Fund will assess
whether the concerns cause or will
cause the Applicant to be incapable of
completing the activities for which
funding has been requested. The CDFI
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Fund will not approve a BEA Program
Award under any circumstances for an
Applicant if the appropriate Federal
bank regulatory agency indicates that
the Applicant received a composite
rating of ‘‘5’’ on its most recent
examination, performed in accordance
with the Uniform Financial Institutions
Rating System.
Furthermore, the CDFI Fund will not
approve a BEA Program Award for an
Applicant that has:
a. a CRA assessment rating of below
‘‘Satisfactory’’ on its most recent
examination; (ii.) a financial audit with:
a going concern paragraph, an adverse
opinion, a disclaimer of opinion, or a
withdrawal of an opinion on its most
recent audit; (iii.) a Prompt Corrective
Action directive from its regulator that
was active at the time the Applicant
submitted its Application to the CDFI
Fund or becomes active during the CDFI
Fund’s evaluation of the Application; or
(iv.) a Material Concern conveyed from
its regulator to the CDFI Fund during
the CDFI Fund’s evaluation of the
Application.
Applicants and/or their appropriate
Federal bank regulator agency may be
contacted by the CDFI Fund to provide
additional information related to
Federal bank regulatory or CRA
information. The CDFI Fund will
consider this information and may
choose to not approve a BEA Program
Award for an Applicant if the
information indicates that the Applicant
may be unable to responsibly manage,
re-invest, and/or report on a BEA
Program Award during the period of
performance.
4. Persistent Poverty Counties: Should
the CDFI Fund determine, upon analysis
of the initial pool of BEA Program
Award Recipients, that it has not
achieved the 10 percent PPC
requirement mandated by Congress,
Award preference will be given to
Applicants that committed to deploying
a minimum of 10 percent of their FY
2019 BEA Program Award in PPCs.
Applicants may be required to deploy
more than the minimum commitment
percentage, but the percentage required
should not exceed the maximum
commitment percentage provided in the
Application. Applicants that committed
to serving PPCs and are selected to
receive a FY 2019 BEA Program award,
will have their PPC commitment
incorporated into their Award
Agreement as a Performance Goal which
will be subject to compliance and
reporting requirements. No applicant,
however, will be disqualified from
consideration for not making a PPC
commitment in its BEA Program
Application.
5. Application Rejection: The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to reject an
Application if information (including
administrative error) comes to the CDFI
Fund’s attention that either: Adversely
affects an Applicant’s eligibility for an
award; adversely affects the CDFI
Fund’s evaluation or scoring of an
Application; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Applicant’s part.
If the CDFI Fund determines any
portion of the Application is incorrect
in a material respect, the CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole discretion,
to reject the Application.
There is no right to appeal the CDFI
Fund’s award decisions. The CDFI
Fund’s award decisions are final. The
CDFI Fund will not discuss the specifics
of an Applicant’s FY 2019 BEA Program
Application or provide reasons why an
Applicant was not selected to receive a
BEA Program Award. The CDFI Fund
will only respond to general questions
regarding the FY 2019 BEA Program
Application and award decision process
until 30 days after the award
announcement date.
C. Anticipated Announcement and
Federal Award Dates: The CDFI Fund
anticipates making its FY 2019 BEA
Program award announcement in the
fall of 2019. The Federal Award Date
shall be the date that the CDFI Fund
executes the Award Agreement.
VI. Federal Award Administration
Information
A. Federal Award Notices: The CDFI
Fund will notify an Applicant of its
selection as a Recipient by delivering a
notification or letter. The Award
Agreement will contain the general
terms and conditions governing the
CDFI Fund’s provision of an Award.
The Award Recipient will receive a
copy of the Award Agreement via AMIS.
The Recipient is required to sign the
Award Agreement via an electronic
signature in AMIS. The CDFI Fund will
18645
subsequently execute the Award
Agreement. Each Recipient must also
ensure that complete and accurate
banking information is reflected in its
SAM account at www.sam.gov in order
to receive its award payment.
B. Administrative and National Policy
Requirements: If, prior to entering into
an Award Agreement, information
(including an administrative error)
comes to the CDFI Fund’s attention that
adversely affects: The Recipient’s
eligibility for an award; the CDFI Fund’s
evaluation of the Application; the
Recipient’s compliance with any
requirement listed in the Uniform
Requirements; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Recipient’s part,
the CDFI Fund may, in its discretion
and without advance notice to the
Recipient, terminate the award or take
other actions as it deems appropriate.
If the Recipient’s certification status
as a CDFI changes, the CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole discretion,
to re-calculate the award, and modify
the Award Agreement based on the
Recipient’s non-CDFI status.
By executing an Award Agreement,
the Recipient agrees that, if the CDFI
Fund becomes aware of any information
(including an administrative error) prior
to the effective date of the Award
Agreement that either adversely affects
the Recipient’s eligibility for an award,
or adversely affects the CDFI Fund’s
evaluation of the Recipient’s
Application, or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the part of the
Recipient, the CDFI Fund may, in its
discretion and without advance notice
to the Recipient, terminate the Award
Agreement or take other actions as it
deems appropriate.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in
its sole discretion, to rescind an award
if the Recipient fails to return the Award
Agreement, signed by the authorized
representative of the Recipient, and/or
provide the CDFI Fund with any other
requested documentation, within the
CDFI Fund’s deadlines.
In addition, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
terminate and rescind the Award
Agreement and the award made under
this NOFA for any criteria described in
the following table:
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TABLE 6—CRITERIA THAT MAY RESULT IN AWARD TERMINATION PRIOR TO THE EXECUTION OF AN AWARD AGREEMENT
Criteria
Failure to maintain FDIC-insured status.
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Description
• If prior to entering into an Award Agreement under this NOFA, the Recipient does not maintain its FDIC-insured status, the CDFI Fund will terminate and rescind the Award Agreement and the award made under this
NOFA.
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TABLE 6—CRITERIA THAT MAY RESULT IN AWARD TERMINATION PRIOR TO THE EXECUTION OF AN AWARD AGREEMENT—
Continued
Criteria
Description
Failure to meet reporting requirements.
• If an Applicant is a prior CDFI Fund Recipient or allocatee under any CDFI Fund program and is not current on
the reporting requirements set forth in the previously executed assistance, award, allocation, bond loan agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering
into an Award Agreement and/or to delay making a disbursement of Award proceeds, until said prior Recipient
or allocatee is current on the reporting requirements in the previously executed assistance, award, allocation,
bond loan agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee. Please note that automated systems employed by the
CDFI Fund for receipt of reports submitted electronically typically acknowledge only a report’s receipt; such acknowledgment does not warrant that the report received was complete and therefore met reporting requirements. If said prior Recipient or allocatee is unable to meet this requirement within the timeframe set by the
CDFI Fund, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and rescind the award made
under this NOFA.
• If, at any time prior to entering into an Award Agreement under this NOFA, an Applicant (or affiliate of an Applicant) that is a prior CDFI Fund Recipient or allocatee under any CDFI Fund program: (i) Has demonstrated it
has been in noncompliance with a previous assistance, award, allocation agreement, bond loan agreement, or
agreement to guarantee, but (ii) the CDFI Fund has yet to make a final determination regarding whether or not
the entity is in noncompliance with or default of its previous assistance, award, allocation, bond loan agreement, or agreement to guarantee, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into
an Award Agreement and/or to delay making a disbursement of award proceeds, pending full resolution, in the
sole determination of the CDFI Fund, of the noncompliance.
• If said prior Recipient or allocatee is unable to meet this requirement, in the sole determination of the CDFI
Fund, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and rescind the award made under
this NOFA.
• If prior to entering into an Award Agreement under this NOFA: (i) The CDFI Fund has made a final determination that an Applicant (or an affiliate of an Applicant) that is a prior CDFI Fund Recipient or allocatee under any
CDFI Fund program whose award or allocation terminated in default or noncompliance of such prior agreement; (ii) the CDFI Fund has provided written notification of such determination to such organization; and (iii)
the anticipated date for entering into the Award Agreement under this NOFA is within a period of time specified
in such notification throughout which any new award, allocation, assistance, bond loan agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee is prohibited, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and rescind the Award Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• If prior to entering into an Award Agreement under this NOFA, the Recipient receives a final determination,
made within the last three years, in any proceeding instituted against the Recipient in, by, or before any court,
governmental, or administrative body or agency, declaring that the Recipient has violated the following laws:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C.§ 2000d); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794); the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, (42 U.S.C. § 6101–6107), and Executive Order
13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, the CDFI Fund will terminate and rescind the Award Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• The Do Not Pay Business Center was developed to support Federal agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through programs funded by the Federal government.
• The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to rescind an award if the Recipient (or affiliate of a
Recipient) is identified as ineligible to be a Recipient per the Do Not Pay database.
• If it is determined the Recipient is or will be incapable of meeting its award obligations, the CDFI Fund will
deem the Recipient to be ineligible or require it to improve safety and soundness conditions prior to entering
into an Award Agreement.
Pending resolution of noncompliance.
Default or Noncompliance
status.
Compliance with Federal civil
rights requirements.
Do Not Pay ...........................
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Safety and Soundness .........
C. Award Agreement: After the CDFI
Fund selects a Recipient, unless an
exception detailed in this NOFA
applies, the CDFI Fund and the
Recipient will enter into an Award
Agreement. The Award Agreement will
set forth certain required terms and
conditions of the award, which will
include, but not be limited to: (i) The
amount of the award; (ii) the approved
uses of the award; (iii) the performance
goals and measures; (iv) the period of
performance; and (v) the reporting
requirements. The Award Agreement
shall provide that a Recipient shall: (i)
carry out its Qualified Activities in
accordance with applicable law, the
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approved Application, and all other
applicable requirements; (ii) not receive
any disbursement of award dollars until
the CDFI Fund has determined that the
Recipient has fulfilled all applicable
requirements; and (iii) use the BEA
Program Award amount for Qualified
Activities. Recipients which committed
to serving PPCs will have their PPC
commitment incorporated into their
Award Agreement as a performance goal
which will be subject to compliance and
reporting requirements.
D. Reporting: Through this NOFA, the
CDFI Fund will require each Recipient
to account for and report to the CDFI
Fund on the use of the award. This will
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require Recipients to establish
administrative controls, subject to
applicable OMB Circulars. The CDFI
Fund will collect information from each
such Recipient on its use of the award
at least once following the award and
more often if deemed appropriate by the
CDFI Fund in its sole discretion. The
CDFI Fund will provide guidance to
Recipients outlining the format and
content of the information required to
be provided to describe how the funds
were used.
The CDFI Fund may collect
information from each Recipient
including, but not limited to, an Annual
Report with the following components:
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18647
TABLE 7—REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Criteria
Description
Financial Statement Audit
Report (FSA report).
Use of BEA Program Award
Report—for all Recipients.
Use of BEA Program Award
Report—Funds Deployed
in Persistent Poverty
Counties.
Explanation of Noncompliance (as applicable) or
successor report.
Recipients must submit the FSA report to the CDFI Fund via AMIS.
Recipients must submit the Use of Award report to the CDFI Fund via AMIS.
The CDFI Fund will require each Recipient with Persistent Poverty County commitments to report data for Award
funds deployed in persistent poverty counties and maintain proper supporting documentation and records which
are subject to review by the CDFI Fund.
If the Recipient fails to meet a Performance Goal or reporting requirement, it must submit the Explanation of Noncompliance via AMIS.
Each Recipient is responsible for the
timely and complete submission of the
reporting requirements. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to contact the
Recipient to request additional
information and documentation. The
CDFI Fund may consider financial
information filed with Federal
regulators during its compliance review.
The CDFI Fund will use such
information to monitor each Recipient’s
compliance with the requirements in
the Award Agreement and to assess the
impact of the BEA Program. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to modify these reporting
requirements if it determines it to be
appropriate and necessary; however,
such reporting requirements will be
modified only after notice has been
provided to Recipients.
E. Financial Management and
Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require
Recipients to maintain financial
management and accounting systems
that comply with Federal statutes,
regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the award. These systems
must be sufficient to permit the
preparation of reports required by
general and program specific terms and
conditions, including the tracing of
funds to a level of expenditures
adequate to establish that such funds
have been used according to the Federal
statutes, regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the award.
Each of the Qualified Activities
categories will be ineligible for indirect
costs and an associated indirect cost
rate. The cost principles used by
Recipients must be consistent with
Federal cost principles and support the
accumulation of costs as required by the
principles, and must provide for
adequate documentation to support
costs charged to the BEA Program
Award. In addition, the CDFI Fund will
require Recipients to: maintain effective
internal controls; comply with
applicable statutes, regulations, and the
Award Agreement; evaluate and
monitor compliance; take action when
not in compliance; and safeguard
personally identifiable information.
VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
A. Questions Related to Application
and Prior Recipient Reporting,
Compliance and Disbursements: The
CDFI Fund will respond to questions
concerning this NOFA, the Application
and reporting, compliance, or
disbursements between the hours of
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time,
starting on the date that this NOFA is
published through the date listed in
Table 1. The CDFI Fund will post
responses to frequently asked questions
in a separate document on its website.
Other information regarding the CDFI
Fund and its programs may be obtained
from the CDFI Fund’s website at https://
www.cdfifund.gov.
The following table lists contact
information for the CDFI Fund,
Grants.gov and SAM:
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TABLE 8—CONTACT INFORMATION
Type of question
Telephone
number
(not toll free)
BEA Program ..............................................................................
Certification, Compliance Monitoring, and Evaluation ...............
AMIS—IT Help Desk ..................................................................
Grants.gov Help Desk ................................................................
SAM.gov (Federal Service Desk) ...............................................
202–653–0421
202–653–0423
202–653–0422
800–518–4726
866–606–8220
B. Information Technology Support:
People who have visual or mobility
impairments that prevent them from
using the CDFI Fund’s website should
call (202) 653–0422 for assistance (this
is not a toll free number).
C. Communication with the CDFI
Fund: The CDFI Fund will use its AMIS
internet interface to communicate with
Applicants and Recipients under this
NOFA. Recipients must use AMIS to
submit required reports. The CDFI Fund
will notify Recipients by email using the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:24 Apr 30, 2019
Jkt 247001
Electronic contact method
BEA AMIS Service Request.
BEA Compliance and Reporting AMIS Service Request.
IT AMIS Service Request.
support@grants.gov.
Web form via https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/login.do.
addresses maintained in each
Recipient’s AMIS account. Therefore, a
Recipient and any Subsidiaries,
signatories, and Affiliates must maintain
accurate contact information (including
contact person and authorized
representative, email addresses, fax
numbers, phone numbers, and office
addresses) in their AMIS account(s).
D. Civil Rights and Diversity: Any
person who is eligible to receive
benefits or services from CDFI Fund or
Recipients under any of its programs is
PO 00000
Frm 00174
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
entitled to those benefits or services
without being subject to prohibited
discrimination. The Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Civil Rights and
Diversity enforces various Federal
statutes and regulations that prohibit
discrimination in financially assisted
and conducted programs and activities
of the CDFI Fund. If a person believes
that s/he has been subjected to
discrimination and/or reprisal because
of membership in a protected group,
s/he may file a complaint with:
E:\FR\FM\01MYN1.SGM
01MYN1
18648
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 1, 2019 / Notices
Associate Chief Human Capital Officer,
Office of Civil Rights, and Diversity,
1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20220 or (202) 622–
1160 (not a toll-free number).
VIII. Other Information
A. Reasonable Accommodations:
Requests for reasonable
accommodations under section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act should be
directed to Mr. Jay Santiago,
Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund, U.S. Department of
the Treasury, at SantiagoJ@cdfi.treas.gov
no later than 72 hours in advance of the
application deadline.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act: Under
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), an agency may not conduct
or sponsor a collection of information,
and an individual is not required to
respond to a collection of information,
unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. Pursuant to the Paperwork
Reduction Act, the BEA Program
funding Application has been assigned
the following control number: 1559–
0005.
C. Application Information Sessions:
The CDFI Fund may conduct webinars
or host information sessions for
organizations that are considering
applying to, or are interested in learning
about, the CDFI Fund’s programs. For
further information, please visit the
CDFI Fund’s website at https://
www.cdfifund.gov.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1834a, 4703, 4703
note, 4713; 12 CFR part 1806.
Jodie Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2019–08787 Filed 4–30–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–70–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Request for Information on Data
Collection and Tracking for Qualified
Opportunity Zones
Department of the Treasury.
Notice and request for
information.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Department of the
Treasury (Treasury Department) is
publishing this notice and request for
information to seek public input on the
development of public information
collection and tracking related to
investment in qualified opportunity
funds (QOFs).
DATES: Comments on this notice and
request for information should be
received by May 31, 2019.
jbell on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:24 Apr 30, 2019
Jkt 247001
Interested persons are
invited to submit comments regarding
this notice according to the instructions
for ‘‘Electronic Submission of
Comments’’ below. All submissions
must refer to this document. The
Treasury Department encourages the
early submission of comments.
ADDRESSES:
Electronic Submission of Comments
Interested persons must submit
comments electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://
www.regulations.gov. Electronic
submission of comments allows the
commenter maximum time to prepare
and submit a comment, ensures timely
receipt, and enables the Treasury
Department to make them available to
the public. Comments submitted
electronically through the https://
www.regulations.gov website can be
viewed by other commenters and
interested members of the public.
Commenters should follow the
instructions provided on that site to
submit comments electronically.
Note: To receive consideration as public
comments, comments must be submitted
through the method specified above.
No Facsimile Comments: Facsimile
(FAX) comments will not be accepted.
Public Inspection of Public
Comments: In general, all properly
submitted comments will be available
for inspection and downloading at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Additional Instructions: Please note
the number of the question to which
you are responding at the top of each
response. Though the responses will be
screened for appropriateness, in general
comments received, including
attachments and other supporting
materials, are part of the public record
and are immediately available to the
public. Do not enclose any information
in your comment or supporting
materials that you consider confidential
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Craig Johnson, Office of Tax Analysis,
202–622–2000. All responses to this
notice and request for information
should be submitted via https://
www.regulations.gov to ensure
consideration.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
13823 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Pub.
L. 115–97, 131 Stat. 2054, 2184 (2017)
(TCJA), amended the Internal Revenue
Code to add sections 1400Z–1 and
1400Z–2. Sections 1400Z–1 and 1400Z–
2 seek to encourage economic growth
and investment in designated distressed
communities (qualified opportunity
zones) by providing Federal income tax
benefits to taxpayers who invest in
PO 00000
Frm 00175
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
businesses located within these zones
through a QOF. The purpose of
information collection and tracking is to
measure the effectiveness of the policy
in achieving its stated goals, and ensure
that this investment opportunity
remains an attractive option for
investors to use.
A QOF is required to file Form 8996
as part of its annual Federal income tax
return. On this form, the QOF reports
the amount of assets in the QOF and
what portion of those assets are
qualified opportunity zone property (as
defined in section 1400Z–2(d)(2)(A)).
Based on annual data provided in Form
8996, with a lag of approximately two
years following the taxable year, the
Treasury Department could determine
and report publicly on (i) the number of
QOFs, (ii) the aggregate amount of
investment in QOFs, and (iii) the
portion of that investment reported by
QOFs as qualified opportunity zone
property.
However, the information reported on
the current version of Form 8996 lacks
sufficient granularity for the Treasury
Department to determine the amount
and type of investment that flows into
an individual qualified opportunity
zone through a QOF. This type of
information would be valuable for
evaluating the success of the qualified
opportunity zone tax incentive on
increasing investment and economic
activity within qualified opportunity
zones.
In the coming weeks, the Treasury
Department anticipates that possible
revisions to the Form 8996 (OMB
Control number 1545–0123) could be
proposed for tax years 2019 and
following. Subject to tax administration
limitations, the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), and
other requirements under law, it is
expected that such proposed revisions
to the Form 8996 could require
additional information such as (1) the
employer identification number (EIN) of
the qualified opportunity zone
businesses owned by a QOF and (2) the
amount invested by QOFs and qualified
opportunity zone businesses located in
particular census tracts designated as
qualified opportunity zones. Notice of
the availability of the draft Form 8996
and request for comment will be
available at IRS.gov/DraftForms.
Treasury Department is seeking
public comment on the following
questions:
1. What data would be useful for
tracking the effectiveness of providing
tax incentives for investment in
qualified opportunity zones to bring
economic development and job creation
to distressed communities?
E:\FR\FM\01MYN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18635-18648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08787]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) Inviting Applications for the
Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Funding Round of the Bank Enterprise Award
Program (BEA Program)
Announcement Type: Announcement of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI-2019-BEA.
Catalog Of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.021.
Dates:
Table 1--FY 2019 BEA Program Funding Round--Key Dates for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description Deadline Time (eastern time--ET) Contact information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant Application Package/SF-424 May 29, 2019 11:59 p.m. ET.............. Contact Grants.gov at 800-
Mandatory (Application for Federal 518-4726 or
Assistance) Submission Method: [email protected].
Electronically via Grants.gov.
Last day to register a user and June 17, 2019 5:00 p.m. ET............... CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202-
organization in AMIS. 653-0422 or IT Award
Management Information
System (AMIS) Service
Request.\1\
Last day to enter, edit or delete BEA June 17, 2019 5:00 p.m. ET............... CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202-
transactions, and verify addresses/ 653-0422 or IT AMIS Service
census tracts in AMIS. Request.\2\
Last day to contact BEA Program Staff June 17, 2019 5:00 p.m. ET............... CDFI Fund BEA Helpdesk: 202-
re: BEA Program Application 653-0421 or BEA AMIS
materials. Service Request.\3\
Last day to contact Certification, June 17, 2019 5:00 p.m. ET............... CCME Helpdesk: 202-653-0423
Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation or Compliance and Reporting
(CCME) staff. AMIS Service Request.\4\
Last day to contact IT Help Desk re. June 19, 2019 5:00 p.m. ET............... CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202-
AMIS support and submission of the 653-0422 or IT AMIS Service
FY 2019 BEA Program Electronic Request.\5\
Application in AMIS.
FY 2019 BEA Program Electronic June 19, 2019 5:00 pm ET................. CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202-
Application Submission Method: 653-0422 or IT AMIS Service
Electronically via AMIS. Request.\6\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Summary: This NOFA is issued in connection with the
fiscal year
[[Page 18636]]
(FY) 2019 funding round of the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA
Program). The BEA Program is administered by the U.S. Department of the
Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI
Fund). Through the BEA Program, the CDFI Fund awards formula-based
grants to depository institutions that are insured by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for increasing their levels of
loans, investments, Service Activities, and technical assistance to
residents and businesses in the most economically Distressed
Communities, and financial assistance and technical assistance to
certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) through
equity investments, equity-like loans, grants, stock purchases, loans,
deposits, and other forms of assistance, during a specified period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For Information Technology support, the preferred method of
contact is to submit a Service Request (SR) within AMIS. For the SR,
select ``Technical Issues'' from the Program drop down menu.
\2\ Ibid.
\3\ For questions regarding completion of the BEA Application
materials, the preferred electronic method of contact with the BEA
Program Office is to submit a Service Request (SR) within AMIS. For
the SR, select ``BEA Application'' from the Program drop down menu
of the Service Request.
\4\ For Compliance and Reporting related questions, the
preferred electronic method of contact is to submit a Service
Request (SR) within AMIS. For the SR, select ``Compliance &
Reporting'' from the Program drop down menu of the Service Request.
\5\ For Information Technology support, the preferred method of
contact is to submit a Service Request (SR) within AMIS. For the SR,
select ``Technical Issues'' from the Program drop down menu of the
Service Request.
\6\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Program Description
A. History: The CDFI Fund was established by the Riegle Community
Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to promote economic
revitalization and community development through investment in and
assistance to CDFIs. Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has
awarded more than $3.3 billion to CDFIs, community development
organizations, and financial institutions through the BEA Program; the
Capital Magnet Fund Program (CMF Program), the Community Development
Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program), and the Native American
CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program). In addition, the CDFI Fund has
allocated $54 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community
Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC
Program), and guaranteed bonds in the total amount of $1.5 billion
through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.
The BEA Program complements the community development activities of
banks and thrifts (collectively referred to as banks for purposes of
this NOFA) by providing financial incentives to expand investments in
CDFIs and to increase lending, investment, and Service Activities
within Distressed Communities. Providing monetary awards to banks for
increasing their community development activities leverages the CDFI
Fund's dollars and puts more capital to work in Distressed Communities
throughout the nation.
B. Authorizing Statutes and Regulations: The BEA Program was
authorized by the Bank Enterprise Award Act of 1991, as amended. The
regulations governing the BEA Program can be found at 12 CFR part 1806
(the Interim Rule). The Interim Rule provides the evaluation criteria
and other requirements of the BEA Program. Detailed BEA Program
requirements are also found in the application materials associated
with this NOFA (the Application). The CDFI Fund encourages interested
parties and Applicants to review the authorizing statute, Interim Rule,
this NOFA, the Application, and the Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal
Awards (Uniform Requirements) for a complete understanding of the
Program. Capitalized terms in this NOFA are defined in the authorizing
statute, the Interim Rule, this NOFA, the Application, or the Uniform
Requirements. Details regarding Application content requirements are
found in the Application and related materials. Application materials
can be found on Grants.gov and the CDFI Fund's website at
www.cdfifund.gov/bea.
C. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200): The Uniform Administrative
Requirements codify financial, administrative, procurement, and program
management standards that Federal award-making agencies and Recipients
must follow. When evaluating award applications, awarding agencies must
evaluate the risks to the program posed by each applicant, and each
applicant's merits and eligibility. These requirements are designed to
ensure that applicants for Federal assistance receive a fair and
consistent review prior to an award decision. This review will assess
items such as the Applicant's financial stability, quality of
management systems, history of performance, and audit findings. In
addition, the Uniform Requirements include guidance on audit
requirements and other award requirements with which Recipients must
comply.
D. Priorities: Through the BEA Program, the CDFI Fund specifies the
following priorities:
1. Estimated Award Amounts: The award percentage used to derive the
estimated award amount for Applicants that are CDFIs is three times
greater than the award percentage used to derive the estimated award
amount for Applicants that are not CDFIs;
2. Priority Factors: Priority Factors will be assigned based on an
Applicant's asset size, as described in Section V.A.14 of this NOFA
(Application Review Information: Priority Factors); and
3. Priority of Awards: The CDFI Fund will rank Applicants in each
category of Qualified Activity according to the priorities described in
Section V.A.16. of this NOFA (Application Review Information: Award
Percentages, Award Amounts, Application Review Process, Selection
Process, Programmatic Financial Risk, and Application Rejection), and
specifically parts V.B.2: Selection Process, V.B.3: Programmatic and
Financial Risk, and V.B.4: Persistent Poverty Counties.
E. Baseline Period and Assessment Period Dates: A BEA Program Award
is based on an Applicant's increase in Qualified Activities from the
Baseline Period to the Assessment Period, as reported on an individual
transaction basis in the Application. For the FY 2019 funding round,
the Baseline Period is calendar year 2017 (January 1, 2017 through
December 31, 2017), and the Assessment Period is calendar year 2018
(January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018).
F. Funding Limitations: The CDFI Fund reserves the right to fund,
in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the Applications submitted in
response to this NOFA. The CDFI Fund also reserves the right to
reallocate funds from the amount that is available through this NOFA to
other CDFI Fund programs, or to reallocate remaining funds to a future
BEA Program funding round, particularly if the CDFI Fund determines
that the number of awards made through this NOFA is fewer than
projected.
G. Persistent Poverty Counties: Pursuant to the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2019 (Pub. L. Number 116-6), Congress mandated that
at least ten percent of the CDFI Fund's appropriations be directed to
counties that meet the criteria for ``Persistent Poverty'' designation.
Persistent Poverty Counties (PPCs) are defined as any county that has
had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the
past 30 years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses, and
the most recent series of 5-year data available from the American
Community Survey from the Census Bureau and published by the CDFI Fund
at: https://www.cdfifund.gov/Documents/PPC%20updated%20Oct.2017.xlsx.
The tabular BEA Program Eligibility Data, which is located on the CDFI
Fund's website, indicates whether a census tract also meets
``Persistent
[[Page 18637]]
Poverty County'' (PPC) criteria. The tabular BEA Program Eligibility
Data can be located by clicking on ``Research and Data'', scrolling to
``Program Eligibility Guidance'' and selecting ``BEA Program Updated
2011-2015 ACS Data'', or by going to the following hyperlink: https://www.cdfifund.gov/Documents/BEA%20ACS_2015_V12.xlsx. Applicants that
apply under this NOFA will be required to indicate the minimum and
maximum percentage of the BEA Program Award that the Applicant will
commit to investing in PPCs.
II. Federal Award Information
A. Funding Availability: The CDFI Fund expects to award up to $25
million for the FY 2019 BEA Program Awards round under this NOFA. The
CDFI Fund reserves the right to award in excess of said funds under
this NOFA, provided that the appropriated funds are available. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to impose a minimum or maximum award amount;
however, under no circumstances will an award be higher than $1 million
for any Recipient.
B. Types of Awards: BEA Program Awards are made in the form of
grants.
C. Anticipated Start Date and Period of Performance: The CDFI Fund
anticipates the period of performance for the FY 2019 funding round
will begin in the fall of calendar year 2019. Specifically, the period
of performance begins on the Federal Award Date and will conclude at
least one (1) full year after the Federal Award Date as further
specified in the BEA Program Award Agreement (Award Agreement), during
which the Recipient must meet the performance goals set forth in the
Award Agreement.
D. Eligible Activities: Eligible Activities for the BEA Program are
referred to as Qualified Activities and are defined in the Interim Rule
to include CDFI Related Activities, Distressed Community Financing
Activities, and Service Activities (12 CFR 1806.103).
CDFI Related Activities (12 CFR 1806.103) means CDFI Equity and
CDFI Support Activities. CDFI Equity consists of Equity Investments,
Equity-Like Loans, and Grants. CDFI Support Activities includes Loans,
Deposits and Technical Assistance.
Distressed Community Financing Activities (12 CFR 1806.103) means
Consumer Loans and Commercial Loans and Investments. Consumer Loans
include Affordable Housing Loans; Education Loans; Home Improvement
Loans; and Small Dollar Consumer Loans. Commercial Loans and
Investments includes Affordable Housing Development Loans and related
Project Investments; Commercial Real Estate Loans and related Project
Investments; and Small Business Loans and related Project Investments.
Service Activities (12 CFR 1806.103) include Deposit Liabilities,
Financial Services, Community Services, Targeted Financial Services,
and Targeted Retail Savings/Investment Products.
When calculating BEA Program Award amounts, the CDFI Fund will only
consider the amount of a Qualified Activity that has been fully
disbursed or, in the case of a partially disbursed Qualified Activity,
will only consider the amount that an Applicant reasonably expects to
disburse for a Qualified Activity within 12 months from the end of the
Assessment Period. Subject to the requirements outlined in Section VI.
of this NOFA, in the case of Commercial Real Estate Loans and related
Project Investments, the total principal amount of the transaction must
be $10 million or less to be considered a Qualified Activity.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion,
may consider transactions with a total principal value of over $10
million, subject to review.
An activity funded with prior BEA Program Award dollars, or funded
to satisfy requirements of an Award Agreement from a prior BEA Program
award or an agreement under any CDFI Fund program, shall not constitute
a Qualified Activity for the purposes of calculating or receiving an
award.
E. Distressed Community: A Distressed Community must meet certain
minimum geographic area and eligibility requirements, which are defined
in the Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1806.103 and more fully described in 12
CFR 1806.401. Applicants should use the CDFI Fund's Information Mapping
System (CIMS Mapping Tool) to determine whether a Baseline Period
activity or Assessment Period activity is located in a qualified
Distressed Community. The CIMS Mapping Tool can be accessed through
AMIS or the CDFI Fund's website at https://www.cdfifund.gov/Pages/mapping-system.aspx. The CIMS Mapping Tool contains a step-by-step
training manual on how to use the tool. In addition, further
instructions to determine whether an activity is located in a qualified
BEA Distressed Community can be located at: https://www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/Programs/bank_enterprise_award/Pages/apply-step.aspx#, Step1 when selecting the BEA Program Application CIMS3
Instructions document in the ``Application Materials'' section of the
BEA web page on the CDFI Fund's website. If you have any questions or
problems with accessing the CIMS Mapping Tool, please contact the CDFI
Fund IT Help Desk by telephone at (202) 653-0300, or by IT AMIS Service
Request.
Please note that a Distressed Community as defined by the BEA
Program is not the same as an Investment Area as defined by the CDFI
Program, a Low-Income Community as defined by the NMTC Program, or an
Area of Economic Distress as defined by the CMF Program.
1. Designation of Distressed Community by a CDFI Partner: CDFI
Partners that receive CDFI Support Activities in the form of loans,
technical assistance or deposits from an Applicant must be integrally
involved in a Distressed Community. Applicants must provide evidence
that each CDFI Partner that is the recipient of CDFI Support Activities
is integrally involved in a Distressed Community, as noted in the
Application. CDFI Partners that receive Equity Investments, Equity-Like
Loans or grants are not required to demonstrate Integral Involvement.
Additional information on Integral Involvement can be found in Section
V. of this NOFA.
2. Distressed Community Determination by a BEA Applicant:
Applicants applying for a BEA Program Award for performing Distressed
Community Financing Activities or Service Activities must verify that
addresses of both Baseline Period and Assessment Period activities are
in Distressed Communities when completing their Application.
A BEA Applicant shall determine an area is a Distressed Community
by:
a. Selecting a census tract where the Qualified Activity occurred
that meets the minimum area and eligibility requirements; or
b. selecting the census tract where the Qualified Activity
occurred, plus one or more census tracts directly contiguous to where
the Qualified Activity occurred that when considered in the aggregate,
meet the minimum area and eligibility requirements set forth in this
section.
F. Award Agreement: Each Recipient under this NOFA must
electronically sign an Award Agreement via AMIS prior to payment of the
award proceeds by the CDFI Fund. The Award Agreement contains the terms
and conditions of the award. For further information, see Section VI.
of this NOFA.
G. Use of Award: It is the policy of the CDFI Fund that BEA Program
Awards may not be used by Recipients to
[[Page 18638]]
recover overhead or Indirect Costs. The Recipient may use up to fifteen
percent (15%) of the total BEA Program award amount on Qualified
Activities as Direct Administrative Expenses. ``Direct Administrative
Expenses'' shall mean Direct Costs, as described in section 2 CFR
200.413 of the Uniform Requirements, which are incurred by the
Recipient to carry out the Qualified Activities. Such costs must be
able to be specifically identified with the Qualified Activities and
not also recovered as Indirect Costs. ``Indirect Costs'' means costs or
expenses defined in accordance with section 2 CFR 200.56 of the Uniform
Requirements. In addition, the Recipient must comply, as applicable,
with the Buy American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303, with respect to
any Direct Costs.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants: For the purposes of this NOFA, the
following table sets forth the eligibility criteria to receive a BEA
Program award from the CDFI Fund.
Table 2--Eligibility Requirements for Applicants
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eligible Applicants.......... The depository institution
holding company of an Insured Depository
Institution may not apply on behalf of
an Insured Depository Institution.
Applications received from depository
institution holding companies will be
disqualified.
Eligible Applicants for the BEA
Program must be Insured Depository
Institutions, as defined in the Interim
Rule.
For the FY 2019 funding round,
an Applicant must have been FDIC-insured
as of the first day of the Baseline
Period, January 1, 2017, and maintain
its FDIC-insured status at the time of
Application to be eligible for
consideration for a BEA Program Award
under this NOFA.
The depository institution
holding company of an Insured Depository
Institution may not apply on behalf of
an Insured Depository Institution.
Applications received from depository
institution holding companies will be
disqualified.
CDFI Applicant............... For the FY 2019 funding round,
an eligible certified-CDFI Applicant is
an Insured Depository Institution that
was certified as a CDFI as of December
31, 2018 and that maintains its status
as a certified CDFI at the time BEA
Program Awards are announced under this
NOFA. No CDFI Applicant may receive a FY
2019 BEA Program Award if it has: (1) An
application pending for assistance under
the FY 2019 round of the CDFI Program;
(2) been included on the list of award
Recipients under the CDFI Program award
announcement within the 12-month period
prior to the Federal Award Date of the
FY 2019 BEA Program Award Agreement; (3)
been awarded assistance from the CDFI
Fund under the CDFI Program within the
12-month period prior to the Federal
Award Date of the FY 2019 BEA Program
Award Agreement issued by the CDFI
Program; or (4) ever received assistance
under the CDFI Program for the same
activities for which it is seeking a FY
2019 BEA Program Award. Please note that
Applicants may apply for both a CDFI
Program award and a BEA Program Award in
FY 2019; however, receiving a FY 2019 or
FY 2018 CDFI Program award removes an
Applicant from eligibility for a FY 2019
BEA Program Award.
If an Applicant's CDFI
certification application was submitted
to the CDFI Fund as of February 28,
2019, and was ultimately approved by the
CDFI Fund by June 15, 2019, then the
Applicant's CDFI status is considered
``certified'' for purposes of the FY
2019 BEA Program application.
Debarment/Do Not Pay The CDFI Fund will conduct a
Verification. debarment check and will not consider an
Application submitted by an Applicant
(or affiliate of an Applicant) if the
Applicant is delinquent on any Federal
debt.
The Do Not Pay Business Center
was developed to support Federal
agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through
programs funded by the Federal
government. The Do Not Pay Business
Center provides delinquency information
to the CDFI Fund to assist with the
debarment check.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Prior Award Recipients: The previous success of an Applicant in
any of the CDFI Fund's programs will not be considered under this NOFA.
Prior BEA Program Award Recipients and prior award recipients of other
CDFI Fund programs are eligible to apply under this NOFA, except as
noted in the following table:
Table 3--Eligibility Requirements for Applicants Which Are Prior
Recipients
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pending resolution of If an Applicant (or affiliate of
noncompliance. an Applicant) that is a prior recipient
or allocatee under any CDFI Fund
program: (i) Has demonstrated it has
been in noncompliance with a previous
assistance agreement, award agreement,
allocation agreement, bond loan
agreement, or agreement to guarantee and
(ii) the CDFI Fund has yet to make a
final determination as to whether the
entity is in noncompliance with or
default of its previous agreement, the
CDFI Fund will consider the Applicant's
Application under this NOFA pending full
resolution, in the sole determination of
the CDFI Fund, of the noncompliance.
Default or Noncompliance The CDFI Fund will not consider
status. an Application submitted by an Applicant
(or Affiliate of such Applicant) that
has a previously executed assistance
agreement, award agreement, bond loan
agreement, or agreement to guarantee or
allocation agreement if, as of the date
of the Application, (i) the CDFI Fund
has made a determination that such
entity is noncompliant with or in
default of such previously executed
agreement, and (ii) the CDFI Fund has
provided written notification that such
entity is ineligible to apply for or
receive any future CDFI Fund awards or
allocations. Such entities will be
ineligible to submit an Application for
such time period as specified by the
CDFI Fund in writing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Contact the CDFI Fund: Accordingly, Applicants that are prior
recipients and/or allocatees under any CDFI Fund program are advised to
comply with requirements specified in an assistance agreement, award
[[Page 18639]]
agreement, allocation agreement, bond loan agreement, or agreement to
guarantee. All outstanding reports and compliance questions should be
directed to the Certification, Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation
helpdesk by submitting a BEA Compliance and Reporting AMIS Service
Request or by telephone at (202) 653-0423. The CDFI Fund will respond
to Applicants' reporting, compliance, or disbursement questions between
the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, starting on the date of the
publication of this NOFA. The CDFI Fund will not respond to Applicants'
reporting, compliance, or disbursement telephone calls or electronic
inquiries that are received after 5:00 p.m. ET on June 17, 2019, until
after the Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will respond to technical
issues related to AMIS Accounts through 5:00 p.m. ET on June 19, 2019,
via an IT AMIS Service Request, email at [email protected], or by
telephone at (202) 653-0422.
D. Cost sharing or matching fund requirements: Not applicable.
IV. Application and Submission Information
A. Address To Request an Application Package: Application materials
can be found on Grants.gov and the CDFI Fund's website at
www.cdfifund.gov/bea. Applicants may request a paper version of any
Application material by contacting the CDFI Fund Help Desk at
[email protected].
B. Content and Form of Application Submission: All Application
materials must be prepared using the English language and calculations
must be made in U.S. dollars. Applicants must submit all materials
described in and required by the Application by the applicable
deadlines. Detailed Application content requirements including
instructions related to the submission of the Grant Application Package
in Grants.gov and the FY 2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS, the CDFI
Fund's web-based portal, are provided in detail in the Application
Instructions. Once an Application is submitted, the Applicant will not
be allowed to change any element of the Application. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to request and review other pertinent or public
information that has not been specifically requested in this NOFA or
the Application.
C. Application Submission: The CDFI Fund has a two-step submission
process for BEA Applications that requires the submission of required
application information on two separate deadlines and in two separate
and distinct systems, Grants.gov and the CDFI Fund's AMIS. The first
step is the submission of the Grant Application, which consists solely
of the Office of Management and Budget Standard Form-424 Mandatory (SF-
424 Mandatory) Application for Federal Assistance, in Grants.gov. The
second step is to submit an FY 2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS.
D. Grants.gov: Applicants must be registered with Grants.gov to
submit the Grants Application Package. The Grants Application Package
consists of one item, the SF-424 Mandatory. In order to register with
Grants.gov, Applicants must have a DUNS number and have an active
registration with SAM.gov. The CDFI Fund strongly encourages Applicants
to start the Grants.gov registration process as soon as possible (refer
to the following link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html)
as it may take several weeks to complete. Applicants that have
previously registered with Grants.gov must verify that their
registration is current and active. Applicants should contact
Grants.gov directly with questions related to the registration or
submission process as the CDFI Fund does not administer or maintain
this system.
Applicants are required to submit a Grant Application Package in
Grants.gov and have it validated by the Grants.gov submission deadline
of May 29, 2019. The Grant Application Package is validated by
Grants.gov after the Applicant's initial submission and it may take
Grants.gov up to 48 hours to complete the validation process.
Therefore, the CDFI Fund encourages Applicants to submit the Grant
Application Package as early as possible. This will help to ensure that
the Grant Application Package is validated before the Grants.gov
submission deadline and provide time for Applicants to contact
Grants.gov directly to resolve any submission issues since the CDFI
Fund does not administer or maintain that system. For more information
about Grants.gov, please visit https://www.grants.gov and see Table 8
for Grants.gov contact information.
The CDFI Fund can only electronically retrieve validated Grant
Application Packages from Grants.gov and therefore only considers the
submission of the Grant Application Package to be successful when it
has been validated by Grants.gov before the submission deadline. It is
the Applicant's sole responsibility to ensure that its Grant
Application Package is submitted and validated by Grants.gov before the
submission deadline. Applicants that do not successfully submit their
Grant Application Package and have it validated by the Grants.gov
submission deadline will not be able to submit a FY 2019 BEA Program
Application in AMIS. The CDFI Fund will electronically retrieve
validated Grant Application Packages from Grants.gov on a daily basis.
Applicants are advised that it will take up to 48 hours from when the
CDFI Fund retrieves the validated Grant Application Package for it to
be available in AMIS to associate with a FY 2019 BEA Program
Application.
Once the CDFI Fund has retrieved the validated Grant Application
Package from Grants.gov and made it available in AMIS, Applicants must
associate it with their Application. Applicants can begin working on
their FY 2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS at any time, however,
they will not be able to submit the application until the validated
Grant Application Package is associated, by the Applicant, with the
application.
Applicants are advised that the CDFI Fund will not notify them when
the validated Grant Application Package has been retrieved from
Grants.gov or when it is available in AMIS. It is the Applicant's
responsibility to ensure that the validated SF-424 Mandatory is
associated with its FY 2019 BEA Application in AMIS. Applicants will
not be able to submit their FY 2019 BEA Program Application without
completing this step.
Applicants are advised that the lookup function in the FY 2019 BEA
Application in AMIS, uses the DUNS number reported on the validated
Grant Application Package to match it with the correct AMIS
Organization account. Therefore, Applicants must make sure the DUNS
number included in the Grant Application Package submitted in
Grants.gov matches the DUNS number in their AMIS Organization account.
If, for example, the DUNS number does not match because the Applicant
inadvertently used the DUNS number of their Bank Holding Company on the
Grant Application Package in Grants.gov and is attempting to associate
with AMIS Organization account of their FDIC-Insured Bank subsidiary,
the lookup function will not return any results and the Applicant will
not be able to submit the FY 2019 BEA Application.
Applicants are also highly encouraged to provide EIN, Authorized
Representative and/or Contact Person information on the Grant
Application Package that matches the information included in AMIS
Organization account.
E. Dun & Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS): Pursuant to
the Uniform Administrative
[[Page 18640]]
Requirements, each Applicant must provide, as part of its Application
submission, a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number. Applicants without a DUNS number will not be able to submit a
Grant Application Package in Grants.gov. Applicants should allow
sufficient time for Dun & Bradstreet to respond to inquiries and/or
requests for DUNS numbers.
F. System for Award Management (SAM): An active SAM account is
required to submit the required Grant Application Package in
Grants.gov. Any entity applying for Federal grants or other forms of
Federal financial assistance through Grants.gov must be registered in
SAM in order to submit its Grant Application Package in Grants.gov or
FY 2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS. When accessing SAM.gov, users
will be asked to create a login.gov user account (if they don't already
have one). Going forward, users will use their login.gov username and
password every time when logging in to SAM.gov. Applicants must have
established an active SAM.gov account no later than 30 days after the
release of this NOFA. The SAM registration process can take three weeks
or longer to complete so Applicants are strongly encouraged to begin
the registration process upon release of this NOFA in order to avoid
potential application submission problems. Applicants that have
previously completed the SAM registration process must verify that
their SAM accounts are current and active. Applicants are advised to
complete the SAM.gov process at least 48 hours in advance of the Grants
Application Package deadline. Applicants are required to maintain a
current and active SAM account at all times during which it has an
active Federal award or an Application under consideration for an award
by a Federal awarding agency.
An original, signed notarized letter identifying the authorized
Entity Administrator for the entity associated with the DUNS number is
required by SAM and must be mailed to the Federal Service Desk. This
requirement is applicable to new entities registering in SAM, as well
as existing entities with registrations being updated or renewed in
SAM. Additional information on the notarized letter process can be
located at: https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/sam-update-updated-july-11-2018.
The CDFI Fund will not consider any Applicant that fails to
properly register or activate its SAM account and, as a result, is
unable to submit its Grant Application Package in Grants.gov, or FY
2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS by the respective deadlines.
Applicants must contact SAM directly with questions related to SAM
registration or account changes as the CDFI Fund does not administer or
maintain this system. For more information about SAM, please visit
https://www.sam.gov or call 866-606-8220.
G. AMIS: All Applicants must complete an FY 2019 BEA Program
Application in AMIS, the CDFI Fund's web-based portal. All Applicants
must register User and Organization accounts in AMIS by June 17, 2019.
In addition, all BEA transactions must be finalized in AMIS by June 17,
2019; this includes address/census tract verification. No transactions
can be added, edited, or deleted after this deadline. Failure to
register and complete a FY 2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS in
accordance with the deadlines noted in Table 1: FY 2019 BEA Program
Funding Round--Key Dates for Applicants will result in the CDFI Fund
being unable to accept the Application. As AMIS is the CDFI Fund's
primary means of communication with Applicants and Recipients,
institutions must make sure that they update their contact information
in their AMIS accounts. In addition, the Applicant should ensure that
the institution information (name, EIN, DUNS number, Authorized
Representative, contact information, etc.) on the Grant Application
Package submitted as part of the Grant Application Package in
Grants.gov matches the information in AMIS. EINs and DUNS numbers in
the Applicant's SAM account must match those listed in AMIS. For more
information on AMIS, please see the information available through the
AMIS Home page at https://amis.cdfifund.gov. Qualified Activity
documentation and other attachments as specified in the applicable BEA
Program Application must also be submitted electronically via AMIS.
Detailed instructions regarding submission of Qualified Activity
documentation is provided in the Application Instructions and AMIS
Training Manual for the BEA Program Application. Applicants will not be
allowed to submit missing Qualified Activity documentation after the
BEA Transactions deadline and any Qualified Activity missing the
required documentation will be disqualified. Qualified Activity
documentation delivered by hard copy to the CDFI Fund's Washington, DC
office address will be rejected, unless the Applicant previously
requested a paper version of the Application as described in Section
IV.A.
H. Submission Dates and Times: The following table provides the
critical deadlines for the FY 2019 BEA Funding Round. Applications and
any other required documents or attachments received after the
applicable deadline will be rejected. The document submission deadlines
stated in this NOFA and the Application are strictly enforced. The CDFI
Fund will not grant exceptions or waivers for late submissions except
where the submission delay was a direct result of a Federal government
administrative or technological error.
Table 4--Critical Deadlines for FY 2019 BEA Funding Round
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description Deadline Time (eastern time)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant Application Package/SF-424 May 29, 2019 11:59 p.m. ET.
Mandatory, Submission Method:
Electronically via Grants.gov.
FY 2019 BEA Program Application, June 19, 2019 5:00 pm ET.
Submission Method:
Electronically via AMIS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Confirmation of Application Submission: Applicants may verify
that their Grant Application Package was successfully submitted and
validated in Grants.gov and that their FY 2019 BEA Program Application
was successfully submitted in AMIS. Applicants should note that the
Grant Application Package consists solely of the SF-424 Mandatory and
has a different deadline than the FY 2019 BEA Program Application.
These deadlines are provided above in Table 4. FY 2019 BEA Program
Funding Round Critical Deadlines for Applicants. If the Grant
Application Package is not successfully submitted and subsequently
validated by Grants.gov by the deadline, the CDFI Fund will not review
the FY 2019 BEA Program Application or any of the application related
material submitted in AMIS and
[[Page 18641]]
the Application will be deemed ineligible.
a. Grants.gov Submission Information: In order to determine whether
the Grant Application Package was submitted properly, each Applicant
should: (1) Receive two separate emails from Grants.gov, and (2)
perform an independent step in Grants.gov to determine whether the
Grant Application was validated. Each Applicant will receive the first
email from Grants.gov immediately after the Grant Application Package
is submitted confirming that the submission has entered the Grants.gov
system. This email will contain a tracking number. Within 48 hours, the
Applicant will receive a second email which will indicate if the
submitted Grant Application Package was successfully validated or
rejected with errors. However, Applicants should not rely on the second
email notification from Grants.gov to confirm that the Grant
Application Package was validated. Instead, Applicants should then
perform an independent step in Grants.gov to determine if the Grant
Application Package status shows as ``Validated'' by clicking on the
``Applicants'' menu, followed by clicking ``Track my Application,'' and
then entering the tracking number provided in the first email. The
Grant Application Package cannot be retrieved by the CDFI Fund until it
has been validated by Grants.gov.
b. AMIS Submission Information: AMIS is the web-based portal where
Applicants will directly enter their application information and add
supporting documentation, when applicable. The CDFI Fund strongly
encourages the Applicant to allow sufficient time to confirm the
Application content, review the material submitted, and remedy any
issues prior to the BEA Transactions deadline. Only the Authorized
Representative or an Application Point of Contact can submit the FY
2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS on the Application deadline.
Applicants will not receive an email confirming that their FY 2019
BEA Program Application was successfully submitted in AMIS. Instead,
Applicants should check their AMIS account to ensure that the status of
the FY 2019 BEA Program Application shows ``Under Review''. Step-by-
step instructions for submitting an FY 2019 BEA Program Application in
AMIS are provided in the Application Instructions, Supplemental
Guidance, and AMIS Training Manual for the BEA Program Electronic
Application.
2. Multiple Application Submissions: If an Applicant submits
multiple versions of its Grant Application Package in Grants.gov, the
Applicant can only associate one with its FY 2019 BEA Program
Application in AMIS.
Applicants can only submit one FY 2019 BEA Program Application in
AMIS. Upon submission, the Application will be locked and cannot be
resubmitted, edited, or modified in any way. The CDFI Fund will not
unlock a submitted Application or allow multiple Application
submissions.
3. Late Submission: The CDFI Fund will not accept an SF-424
Mandatory in Grants.gov or an FY 2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS
if it is not signed by an Authorized Representative or submitted after
the respective deadlines. In either case, the CDFI Fund will not review
any material submitted, and the Application will be deemed ineligible,
except where the submission delay was a direct result of a Federal
government administrative or technological error. This exception
includes any errors associated with Grants.gov, SAM.gov, AMIS or any
other applicable government system. Please note that this exception
does not apply to errors arising from obtaining a DUNS number from Dun
& Bradstreet, which is not a government entity. An Applicant unable to
make timely submission of its Application due to any errors in the
process of obtaining a DUNS number will not be allowed to submit its
Application after the Application deadline has passed. In such case,
the Applicant must submit their request for acceptance of a late
Application submission to the BEA Program Office via an AMIS Service
Request with documentation that clearly demonstrates the error by no
later than two business days after the applicable Application deadline
for Grants.gov or AMIS. The CDFI Fund will not respond to a request for
acceptance of late Application submissions after that time period. The
AMIS Service Request must be directed to the BEA Program with a subject
line of ``FY 2019 BEA Late Application Submission Request.''
I. Funding Restrictions: BEA Program Awards are limited by the
following:
1. The Recipient shall use BEA Program Award funds only for the
eligible activities described in Section II. D. of this NOFA and its
Award Agreement.
2. The Recipient may not distribute BEA Program Award funds to an
affiliate, Subsidiary, or any other entity, without the CDFI Fund's
prior written approval.
3. BEA Program Award funds shall only be disbursed to the
Recipient.
4. The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may disburse BEA Program
Award funds in amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are
different from those requested by an Applicant.
J. Other Submission Requirements: None.
V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria: If the Applicant submitted a complete and eligible
Application, the CDFI Fund will conduct a substantive review in
accordance with the criteria and procedures described in the
Regulations, this NOFA, the Application guidance, and the Uniform
Requirements. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to contact the Applicant
by telephone, email, or mail for the sole purpose of clarifying or
confirming Application information. If contacted, the Applicant must
respond within the time period communicated by the CDFI Fund or run the
risk that its Application will be rejected.
1. CDFI Related Activities: CDFI Related Activities include Equity
Investments, Equity-Like Loans, and CDFI Support Activities provided to
eligible CDFI Partners.
2. Eligible CDFI Partner: CDFI Partner is defined as a certified
CDFI that has been provided assistance in the form of CDFI Related
Activities by an unaffiliated Applicant (12 CFR 1806.103). For the
purposes of this NOFA, an eligible CDFI Partner must have been
certified as a CDFI as of the date that the BEA Applicant made its
investment or provided support, and be Integrally Involved in a
Distressed Community (if the BEA Applicant provided CDFI Support
Activities to the CDFI Partner).
3. Integrally Involved: Integrally Involved is defined at 12 CFR
1806.103. For purposes of this NOFA, in order for an Applicant to
report CDFI Support Activities in its Application, the CDFI Partner
which received the support must be deemed to be Integrally Involved by
demonstrating it has: (i) Provided at least 10 percent of the number of
its financial transactions or dollars transacted (e.g., loans or Equity
Investments), or 10 percent of the number of its Development Service
Activities (as defined in 12 CFR 1805.104) or value of the
administrative cost of providing such services, in one or more
Distressed Communities identified by the CDFI Partner, in each of the
three calendar years preceding the date of this NOFA; (ii) transacted
at least 25 percent of the number of its financial transactions or
dollars transacted (e.g., loans or equity investments) in one or more
Distressed Communities in at least one of the three calendar years
preceding the date of this
[[Page 18642]]
NOFA, or 25 percent of the number of its Development Service Activities
(as defined in 12 CFR 1805.104) or value of the administrative cost of
providing such services, in one or more Distressed Communities
identified by the CDFI Partner, in at least one of the three calendar
years preceding the date of this NOFA; (iii) demonstrated that it has
attained at least 10 percent of market share for a particular financial
product in one or more Distressed Communities (such as home mortgages
originated in one or more Distressed Communities) in at least one of
the three calendar years preceding the date of this NOFA; or (iv) at
least 25 percent of the CDFI Partner's physical locations (e.g.,
offices or branches) are located in one or more Distressed Communities
where it provided financial transactions or Development Service
Activities during the one calendar year preceding the date of the NOFA.
4. Limitations on eligible Qualified Activities provided to certain
CDFI Partners: A CDFI Applicant cannot receive credit for any financial
assistance or Qualified Activities provided to a CDFI Partner that is
also an FDIC-insured depository institution or depository institution
holding company.
5. Certificates of Deposit: Section 1806.103 of the Interim Rule
states that any certificate of deposit (CD) placed by an Applicant or
its Subsidiary in a CDFI Partner that is a bank, thrift, or credit
union must be: (i) Uninsured and committed for at least three years; or
(ii) insured, committed for a term of at least three years, and
provided at an interest rate that is materially below market rates, in
the determination of the CDFI Fund.
a. For purposes of this NOFA, ``materially below market interest
rate'' is defined as an annual percentage rate that does not exceed the
yields on Treasury securities at constant maturity as interpolated by
Treasury from the daily yield curve and available on the Treasury
website at www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/yield.shtml. For example, for a three-year CD, Applicants
should use the three-year rate U.S. Government securities, Treasury
Yield Curve Rate posted for that business day. The Treasury updates the
website daily at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET. CDs placed prior to that
time may use the rate posted for the previous business day. The annual
percentage rate on a CD should be compounded daily, quarterly, semi-
annually, or annually. If a variable interest rate is used, the CD must
also have an interest rate that is materially below the market interest
rate over the life of the CD, in the determination of the CDFI Fund.
b. For purposes of this NOFA, a deposit placed by an Applicant
directly with a CDFI Partner that participates in a deposit network or
service may be treated as eligible under this NOFA if it otherwise
meets the criteria for deposits in 12 CFR.1806.103 and the CDFI Partner
retains the full amount of the initial deposit or an amount equivalent
to the full amount of the initial deposit through a deposit network
exchange transaction.
6. Equity Investment: An Equity Investment means financial
assistance provided by an Applicant or its Subsidiary to a CDFI, which
CDFI meets such criteria as set forth in this NOFA, in the form of a
grant, a stock purchase, a purchase of a partnership interest, a
purchase of a limited liability company membership interest, or any
other investment deemed to be an Equity Investment by the CDFI Fund.
7. Equity-Like Loan: An Equity-Like Loan is a loan provided by an
Applicant or its Subsidiary to a CDFI, and made on such terms that it
has characteristics of an Equity Investment, as such characteristics
may be specified by the CDFI Fund (12 CFR 1806.103). For purposes of
this NOFA, an Equity-Like Loan must meet the following characteristics:
a. At the end of the initial term, the loan must have a definite
rolling maturity date that is automatically extended on an annual basis
if the CDFI borrower continues to be financially sound and carry out a
community development mission;
b. Periodic payments of interest and/or principal may only be made
out of the CDFI borrower's available cash flow after satisfying all
other obligations;
c. Failure to pay principal or interest (except at maturity) will
not automatically result in a default of the loan agreement; and
d. The loan must be subordinated to all other debt except for other
Equity-Like Loans.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the CDFI Fund reserves the right to
determine, in its sole discretion and on a case-by-case basis, whether
an instrument meets the above-stated characteristics of an Equity-Like
Loan.
8. CDFI Support Activity: A CDFI Support Activity is defined as
assistance provided by an Applicant or its Subsidiary to a CDFI that is
Integrally Involved in a Distressed Community, in the form of a loan,
Technical Assistance, or deposits.
9. CDFI Program Matching Funds: Equity Investments, Equity-Like
Loans, and CDFI Support Activities (except Technical Assistance)
provided by a BEA Applicant to a CDFI and used by the CDFI for matching
funds under the CDFI Program are eligible as a Qualified Activity under
the CDFI Related Activity category.
10. Commercial Loans and Investments: Commercial Loans and
Investments is a sub-category of Distressed Community Financing
Activities and is defined as the following lending activity types:
Affordable Housing Development Loans and related Project Investments;
Commercial Real Estate Loans and related Project Investments; and Small
Business Loans and related Project Investments.
11. Consumer Loans: Consumer Loans is a sub-category of Distressed
Community Financing Activities and is defined as the following lending
activity types: Affordable Housing Loans; Education Loans; Home
Improvement Loans; and Small Dollar Consumer Loans.
12. Distressed Community Financing Activities and Service
Activities: Distressed Community Financing Activities comply with
consumer protection laws and are defined as (1) Consumer Loans; or (2)
Commercial Loans and Investments. In addition to the requirements set
forth in the Interim Rule, this NOFA provides the following additional
requirements:
a. Affordable Housing Development Loans and Related Project
Investments: For purposes of this NOFA, eligible Affordable Housing
Development Loans and related Project Investments do not include
housing for students, or school dormitories. In addition, for such
transactions, Applicants will be required to provide supporting
documentation that demonstrates that at least 60 percent of the units
in the property financed are or will be sold or rented to Eligible
Residents who meet Low-and-Moderate-income requirements, as noted in
the Application instructions.
b. Commercial Real Estate Loans and related Project Investments:
For purposes of this NOFA, eligible Commercial Real Estate Loans (12
CFR 1806.103) and related Project Investments are generally limited to
transactions with a total principal value of $10 million or less.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion,
may consider transactions with a total principal value of over $10
million, subject to review. For such transactions, Applicants must
provide a separate narrative, or other information, to demonstrate that
the proposed project offers, or significantly enhances the quality of,
a facility or service not
[[Page 18643]]
currently provided to the Distressed Community.
c. Small Dollar Consumer Loan: For purposes of this NOFA, eligible
Small Dollar Consumer Loans are affordable loans that serve as
available alternatives to the marketplace for individuals who are
Eligible Residents with a total principal value of no less than $500
and no greater than $5,000 and have a term of ninety (90) days or more.
d. Distressed Community Financing Activities--Transactions Less
Than $250,000: For purposes of this NOFA, Applicants are expected to
maintain records for any transaction submitted as part of the FY 2019
BEA Program Application, including supporting documentation for
transactions in the Distressed Community Financing Activity category of
less than $250,000. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to request
supporting documentation from an Applicant during its Application
Review process for a Distressed Community Financing Activities
transaction less than $250,000.
e. Low- and Moderate-Income residents: For the purposes of this
NOFA, Low-Income means borrower income that does not exceed 80 percent
of the area median income, and Moderate-Income means borrower income
may be 81 percent to no more than 120 percent of the area median
income, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data.
13. Reporting Certain Financial Services: The CDFI Fund will value
the administrative cost of providing certain Financial Services using
the following per unit values:
a. $100.00 per account for Targeted Financial Services including
safe transaction accounts, youth transaction accounts, Electronic
Transfer Accounts and Individual Development Accounts;
b. $50.00 per account for checking and savings accounts that do not
meet the definition of Targeted Financial Services;
c. $5.00 per check cashing transaction;
d. $50,000 per new ATM installed at a location in a Distressed
Community;
e. $500,000 per new retail bank branch office opened in a
Distressed Community, including school-based bank branches approved by
the Applicant's Federal bank regulator;
f. In the case of Applicants engaging in Financial Services
activities not described above, the CDFI Fund will determine the unit
value of such services;
g. When reporting the opening of a new retail bank branch office,
the Applicant must certify that such new branch is intended to remain
in operation for at least the next five years;
h. Financial Service Activities must be provided by the Applicant
to Eligible Residents or enterprises that are located in a Distressed
Community. An Applicant may determine the number of Eligible Residents
who are recipients of Financial Services by either: (i) Collecting the
addresses of its Financial Services customers, or (ii) certifying that
the Applicant reasonably believes that such customers are Eligible
Residents or enterprises located in a Distressed Community and
providing a brief analytical narrative with information describing how
the Applicant made this determination. Citations must be provided for
external sources. In addition, if external sources are referenced in
the narrative, the Applicant must explain how it reached the conclusion
that the cited references are directly related to the Eligible
Residents or enterprises to whom it is claiming to have provided the
Financial Services; and
i. When reporting changes in the dollar amount of deposit accounts,
only calculate the net change in the total dollar amount of eligible
Deposit Liabilities between the Baseline Period and the Assessment
Period. Do not report each individual deposit. If the net change
between the Baseline Period and Assessment Period is a negative dollar
amount, then a negative dollar amount may be recorded for Deposit
Liabilities only. Instructions for determining the net change is
available in the FY 2019 BEA Program Application in AMIS.
14. Priority Factors: Priority Factors are the numeric values
assigned to individual types of activity within: (i) The Distressed
Community Financing Activities, and (ii) Services Activities categories
of Qualified Activities. For the purposes of this NOFA, Priority
Factors will be based on the Applicant's asset size as of the end of
the Assessment Period (December 31, 2018) as reported by the Applicant
in the Application. Asset size classes (i.e., small institutions,
intermediate-small institutions, and large institutions) will
correspond to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) asset size classes
set by the three Federal bank regulatory agencies and that were
effective as of the end of the Assessment Period. The Priority Factor
works by multiplying the change in a Qualified Activity by the assigned
Priority Factor to achieve a ``weighted value.'' This weighted value of
the change would be multiplied by the applicable Award percentage to
yield the Award amount for that particular activity. For purposes of
this NOFA, the CDFI Fund is establishing Priority Factors based on
Applicant asset size to be applied to all activity types within the
Distressed Community Financing Activities and Service Activities
categories only, as follows:
Table 5--CRA Asset Size Classification
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority
factor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small institutions (assets of less than $321 million as 5.0
of 12/31/2018).........................................
Intermediate--small institutions (assets of at least 3.0
$321 million but less than $1.284 billion as of 12/31/
2018)..................................................
Large institutions (assets of $1.284 billion or greater 1.0
as of 12/31/2018)......................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Certain Limitations on Qualified Activities:
a. Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: Financial assistance provided by
an Applicant for which the Applicant receives benefits through Low-
Income Housing Tax Credits, authorized pursuant to Section 42 of the
Internal Revenue Code, as amended (26 U.S.C. 42), shall not constitute
an Equity Investment, Project Investment, or other Qualified Activity,
for the purposes of calculating or receiving a BEA Program Award.
b. New Markets Tax Credits: Financial assistance provided by an
Applicant for which the Applicant receives benefits as an investor in a
Community Development Entity that has received an allocation of New
Markets Tax Credits, authorized pursuant to Section 45D of the Internal
Revenue Code, as amended (26 U.S.C. 45D), shall not constitute an
Equity Investment, Project Investment, or other Qualified Activity, for
the purposes of calculating or receiving a BEA Program Award. Leverage
loans used in New Markets Tax Credit structured transactions that meet
the requirements outlined in this NOFA are considered Distressed
Community Financing Activities. The application materials will provide
further guidance on requirements for BEA transactions which were
leverage loans used in a New Markets Tax Credit structured transaction.
c. Loan Renewals and Refinances: Financial assistance provided by
an Applicant shall not constitute a Qualified Activity, as defined in
this part, for the purposes of calculating or receiving a BEA Program
Award if such financial assistance consists of a loan to a borrower
that has matured and is then renewed by the Applicant, or consists of
[[Page 18644]]
a loan to a borrower that is retired or restructured using the proceeds
of a new commitment by the Applicant.
d. Certain Business Types: Financial assistance provided by an
Applicant shall not constitute a Qualified Activity, as defined in this
part, for the purposes of financing the following business types: adult
entertainment providers, golf courses, race tracks, gambling
facilities, country clubs, facilities offering massage services, hot
tub facilities, suntan facilities, or stores where the principal
business is the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption off
premises.
e. Prior BEA Program Awards: Qualified Activities funded with prior
funding round BEA Program Award dollars or funded to satisfy
requirements of the BEA Program Award Agreement shall not constitute a
Qualified Activity for the purposes of calculating or receiving a BEA
Program Award.
f. Prior CDFI Fund Awards: No Applicant may receive a BEA Program
Award for the same activities funded by another CDFI Fund program or
Federal program.
16. Award Percentages, Award Amounts, Application Review Process,
Selection Process, Programmatic and Financial Risk, and Application
Rejection: The Interim Rule and this NOFA describe the process for
selecting Applicants to receive a BEA Program Award and determining
Award amounts.
a. Award percentages: In the CDFI Related Activities subcategory of
CDFI Equity, for all Applicants, the estimated award amount will be
equal to 18 percent of the increase in Qualified Activities reported in
this subcategory.
In the CDFI Related Activities subcategory of CDFI Support
Activities, for a certified CDFI Applicant, the estimated award amount
will be equal to 18 percent of the increase in Qualified Activities in
this subcategory. If an Applicant is not a certified CDFI, the
estimated award amount will be equal to 6 percent of the increase in
Qualified Activities in this subcategory.
In Distressed Community Financing Activities' subcategory of
Consumer Lending, the estimated award amount for certified CDFI
Applicants will be 18 percent of the weighted value of the increase in
Qualified Activities in this subcategory. If an Applicant is not a
certified CDFI Applicant, the estimated award amount will be equal to 6
percent of the weighted value of the increase in Qualified Activities
in this subcategory.
In the Distressed Community Financing Activities subcategory of
Commercial Lending and Investments, for a certified CDFI Applicant, the
estimated award amount will be equal to 9 percent of the weighted value
of the increase in Qualified Activities in this subcategory. If an
Applicant is not a certified CDFI, the estimated award amount will be
equal to 3 percent of the weighted value of the increase in Qualified
Activity in this subcategory.
In the Service Activities category, for a certified CDFI Applicant,
the estimated award amount will be equal to 9 percent of the weighted
value of the increase in Qualified Activity for the category. If an
Applicant is not a certified CDFI, the estimated award amount will be
equal to 3 percent of the weighted value of the increase in Qualified
Activity for the category.
b. Award Amounts: An Applicant's estimated award amount will be
calculated according to the procedure outlined in the Interim Rule (at
12 CFR 1806.403). As outlined in the Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1806.404,
the CDFI Fund will determine actual Award amounts based on the
availability of funds, increases in Qualified Activities from the
Baseline Period to the Assessment Period, and the priority ranking of
each Applicant.
In calculating the increase in Qualified Activities, the CDFI Fund
will determine the eligibility of each transaction for which an
Applicant has applied for a BEA Program Award. In some cases, the
actual award amount calculated by the CDFI Fund may not be the same as
the estimated award amount requested by the Applicant.
For purposes of calculating award payment amounts, the CDFI Fund
will treat Qualified Activities with a total principal amount less than
or equal to $250,000 as fully disbursed. For all other Qualified
Activities, Recipients will have 12 months from the end of the
Assessment Period to make disbursements and 15 months from the end of
the Assessment Period to submit to the CDFI Fund disbursement requests
for the corresponding portion of their awards, after which the CDFI
Fund will rescind and de-obligate any outstanding award balance and
said outstanding award balance will no longer be available to the
Recipient.
B. Review and Selection Process:
1. Application Review Process: All Applications will be initially
evaluated by external non-Federal reviewers. Reviewers are selected
based on their experience in understanding various financial
transactions, reading and interpreting financial documentation, strong
written communication skills, and strong mathematical skills. Reviewers
must complete the CDFI Fund's conflict of interest process and be
approved by the CDFI Fund.
2. Selection Process: If the amount of funds available during the
funding round is insufficient for all estimated Award amounts,
Recipients will be selected based on the process described in the
Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1806.404. This process gives funding priority to
Applicants that undertake activities in the following order: (i) CDFI
Related Activities, (ii) Distressed Community Financing Activities, and
(iii) Service Activities, as described in the Interim Rule at 12 CFR
1806.404(c).
Within each category, CDFI Applicants will be ranked first
according to the ratio of the actual award amount calculated by the
CDFI Fund for the category to the total assets of the Applicant,
followed by Applicants that are not CDFI Applicants according to the
ratio of the actual award amount calculated by the CDFI Fund for the
category to the total assets of the Applicant.
Selections within each priority category will be based on the
Applicants' relative rankings within each such category, subject to the
availability of funds and any established maximum dollar amount of
total awards that may be awarded for the Distressed Community Financing
Activities category of Qualified Activities, as determined by the CDFI
Fund.
The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion: (i) May adjust the estimated
award amount that an Applicant may receive; (ii) may establish a
maximum amount that may be awarded to an Applicant; and (iii) reserves
the right to limit the amount of an award to any Applicant if the CDFI
Fund deems it appropriate.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to contact the Applicant to
confirm or clarify information. If contacted, the Applicant must
respond within the CDFI Fund's time parameters or the Application may
be rejected.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to change its eligibility and
evaluation criteria and procedures. If those changes materially affect
the CDFI Fund's award decisions, the CDFI Fund will provide information
regarding the changes through the CDFI Fund's website.
3. Programmatic and Financial Risk: The CDFI Fund will consider
safety and soundness information from the appropriate Federal bank
regulatory agency as defined in Section 3 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(q)). If the appropriate Federal bank
regulatory agency identifies safety and soundness concerns, the CDFI
Fund will assess whether the concerns cause or will cause the Applicant
to be incapable of completing the activities for which funding has been
requested. The CDFI
[[Page 18645]]
Fund will not approve a BEA Program Award under any circumstances for
an Applicant if the appropriate Federal bank regulatory agency
indicates that the Applicant received a composite rating of ``5'' on
its most recent examination, performed in accordance with the Uniform
Financial Institutions Rating System.
Furthermore, the CDFI Fund will not approve a BEA Program Award for
an Applicant that has:
a. a CRA assessment rating of below ``Satisfactory'' on its most
recent examination; (ii.) a financial audit with: a going concern
paragraph, an adverse opinion, a disclaimer of opinion, or a withdrawal
of an opinion on its most recent audit; (iii.) a Prompt Corrective
Action directive from its regulator that was active at the time the
Applicant submitted its Application to the CDFI Fund or becomes active
during the CDFI Fund's evaluation of the Application; or (iv.) a
Material Concern conveyed from its regulator to the CDFI Fund during
the CDFI Fund's evaluation of the Application.
Applicants and/or their appropriate Federal bank regulator agency
may be contacted by the CDFI Fund to provide additional information
related to Federal bank regulatory or CRA information. The CDFI Fund
will consider this information and may choose to not approve a BEA
Program Award for an Applicant if the information indicates that the
Applicant may be unable to responsibly manage, re-invest, and/or report
on a BEA Program Award during the period of performance.
4. Persistent Poverty Counties: Should the CDFI Fund determine,
upon analysis of the initial pool of BEA Program Award Recipients, that
it has not achieved the 10 percent PPC requirement mandated by
Congress, Award preference will be given to Applicants that committed
to deploying a minimum of 10 percent of their FY 2019 BEA Program Award
in PPCs. Applicants may be required to deploy more than the minimum
commitment percentage, but the percentage required should not exceed
the maximum commitment percentage provided in the Application.
Applicants that committed to serving PPCs and are selected to receive a
FY 2019 BEA Program award, will have their PPC commitment incorporated
into their Award Agreement as a Performance Goal which will be subject
to compliance and reporting requirements. No applicant, however, will
be disqualified from consideration for not making a PPC commitment in
its BEA Program Application.
5. Application Rejection: The CDFI Fund reserves the right to
reject an Application if information (including administrative error)
comes to the CDFI Fund's attention that either: Adversely affects an
Applicant's eligibility for an award; adversely affects the CDFI Fund's
evaluation or scoring of an Application; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Applicant's part. If the CDFI Fund determines any
portion of the Application is incorrect in a material respect, the CDFI
Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject the
Application.
There is no right to appeal the CDFI Fund's award decisions. The
CDFI Fund's award decisions are final. The CDFI Fund will not discuss
the specifics of an Applicant's FY 2019 BEA Program Application or
provide reasons why an Applicant was not selected to receive a BEA
Program Award. The CDFI Fund will only respond to general questions
regarding the FY 2019 BEA Program Application and award decision
process until 30 days after the award announcement date.
C. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates: The CDFI Fund
anticipates making its FY 2019 BEA Program award announcement in the
fall of 2019. The Federal Award Date shall be the date that the CDFI
Fund executes the Award Agreement.
VI. Federal Award Administration Information
A. Federal Award Notices: The CDFI Fund will notify an Applicant of
its selection as a Recipient by delivering a notification or letter.
The Award Agreement will contain the general terms and conditions
governing the CDFI Fund's provision of an Award. The Award Recipient
will receive a copy of the Award Agreement via AMIS. The Recipient is
required to sign the Award Agreement via an electronic signature in
AMIS. The CDFI Fund will subsequently execute the Award Agreement. Each
Recipient must also ensure that complete and accurate banking
information is reflected in its SAM account at www.sam.gov in order to
receive its award payment.
B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: If, prior to
entering into an Award Agreement, information (including an
administrative error) comes to the CDFI Fund's attention that adversely
affects: The Recipient's eligibility for an award; the CDFI Fund's
evaluation of the Application; the Recipient's compliance with any
requirement listed in the Uniform Requirements; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Recipient's part, the CDFI Fund may, in its
discretion and without advance notice to the Recipient, terminate the
award or take other actions as it deems appropriate.
If the Recipient's certification status as a CDFI changes, the CDFI
Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to re-calculate the
award, and modify the Award Agreement based on the Recipient's non-CDFI
status.
By executing an Award Agreement, the Recipient agrees that, if the
CDFI Fund becomes aware of any information (including an administrative
error) prior to the effective date of the Award Agreement that either
adversely affects the Recipient's eligibility for an award, or
adversely affects the CDFI Fund's evaluation of the Recipient's
Application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on the part of the
Recipient, the CDFI Fund may, in its discretion and without advance
notice to the Recipient, terminate the Award Agreement or take other
actions as it deems appropriate.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
rescind an award if the Recipient fails to return the Award Agreement,
signed by the authorized representative of the Recipient, and/or
provide the CDFI Fund with any other requested documentation, within
the CDFI Fund's deadlines.
In addition, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to terminate and rescind the Award Agreement and the award
made under this NOFA for any criteria described in the following table:
Table 6--Criteria That May Result in Award Termination Prior to the
Execution of an Award Agreement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Failure to maintain FDIC- If prior to entering into an
insured status. Award Agreement under this NOFA, the
Recipient does not maintain its FDIC-
insured status, the CDFI Fund will
terminate and rescind the Award
Agreement and the award made under this
NOFA.
[[Page 18646]]
Failure to meet reporting If an Applicant is a prior CDFI
requirements. Fund Recipient or allocatee under any
CDFI Fund program and is not current on
the reporting requirements set forth in
the previously executed assistance,
award, allocation, bond loan
agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee,
the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its
sole discretion, to delay entering into
an Award Agreement and/or to delay
making a disbursement of Award proceeds,
until said prior Recipient or allocatee
is current on the reporting requirements
in the previously executed assistance,
award, allocation, bond loan
agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee.
Please note that automated systems
employed by the CDFI Fund for receipt of
reports submitted electronically
typically acknowledge only a report's
receipt; such acknowledgment does not
warrant that the report received was
complete and therefore met reporting
requirements. If said prior Recipient or
allocatee is unable to meet this
requirement within the timeframe set by
the CDFI Fund, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
terminate and rescind the award made
under this NOFA.
Pending resolution of If, at any time prior to
noncompliance. entering into an Award Agreement under
this NOFA, an Applicant (or affiliate of
an Applicant) that is a prior CDFI Fund
Recipient or allocatee under any CDFI
Fund program: (i) Has demonstrated it
has been in noncompliance with a
previous assistance, award, allocation
agreement, bond loan agreement, or
agreement to guarantee, but (ii) the
CDFI Fund has yet to make a final
determination regarding whether or not
the entity is in noncompliance with or
default of its previous assistance,
award, allocation, bond loan agreement,
or agreement to guarantee, the CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to delay entering into an
Award Agreement and/or to delay making a
disbursement of award proceeds, pending
full resolution, in the sole
determination of the CDFI Fund, of the
noncompliance.
If said prior Recipient or
allocatee is unable to meet this
requirement, in the sole determination
of the CDFI Fund, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
terminate and rescind the award made
under this NOFA.
Default or Noncompliance If prior to entering into an
status. Award Agreement under this NOFA: (i) The
CDFI Fund has made a final determination
that an Applicant (or an affiliate of an
Applicant) that is a prior CDFI Fund
Recipient or allocatee under any CDFI
Fund program whose award or allocation
terminated in default or noncompliance
of such prior agreement; (ii) the CDFI
Fund has provided written notification
of such determination to such
organization; and (iii) the anticipated
date for entering into the Award
Agreement under this NOFA is within a
period of time specified in such
notification throughout which any new
award, allocation, assistance, bond loan
agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee
is prohibited, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
terminate and rescind the Award
Agreement and the award made under this
NOFA.
Compliance with Federal civil If prior to entering into an
rights requirements. Award Agreement under this NOFA, the
Recipient receives a final
determination, made within the last
three years, in any proceeding
instituted against the Recipient in, by,
or before any court, governmental, or
administrative body or agency, declaring
that the Recipient has violated the
following laws: Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42
U.S.C.Sec. 2000d); Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
Sec. 794); the Age Discrimination Act
of 1975, (42 U.S.C. Sec. 6101-6107),
and Executive Order 13166, Improving
Access to Services for Persons with
Limited English Proficiency, the CDFI
Fund will terminate and rescind the
Award Agreement and the award made under
this NOFA.
Do Not Pay................... The Do Not Pay Business Center
was developed to support Federal
agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through
programs funded by the Federal
government.
The CDFI Fund reserves the
right, in its sole discretion, to
rescind an award if the Recipient (or
affiliate of a Recipient) is identified
as ineligible to be a Recipient per the
Do Not Pay database.
Safety and Soundness......... If it is determined the
Recipient is or will be incapable of
meeting its award obligations, the CDFI
Fund will deem the Recipient to be
ineligible or require it to improve
safety and soundness conditions prior to
entering into an Award Agreement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Award Agreement: After the CDFI Fund selects a Recipient, unless
an exception detailed in this NOFA applies, the CDFI Fund and the
Recipient will enter into an Award Agreement. The Award Agreement will
set forth certain required terms and conditions of the award, which
will include, but not be limited to: (i) The amount of the award; (ii)
the approved uses of the award; (iii) the performance goals and
measures; (iv) the period of performance; and (v) the reporting
requirements. The Award Agreement shall provide that a Recipient shall:
(i) carry out its Qualified Activities in accordance with applicable
law, the approved Application, and all other applicable requirements;
(ii) not receive any disbursement of award dollars until the CDFI Fund
has determined that the Recipient has fulfilled all applicable
requirements; and (iii) use the BEA Program Award amount for Qualified
Activities. Recipients which committed to serving PPCs will have their
PPC commitment incorporated into their Award Agreement as a performance
goal which will be subject to compliance and reporting requirements.
D. Reporting: Through this NOFA, the CDFI Fund will require each
Recipient to account for and report to the CDFI Fund on the use of the
award. This will require Recipients to establish administrative
controls, subject to applicable OMB Circulars. The CDFI Fund will
collect information from each such Recipient on its use of the award at
least once following the award and more often if deemed appropriate by
the CDFI Fund in its sole discretion. The CDFI Fund will provide
guidance to Recipients outlining the format and content of the
information required to be provided to describe how the funds were
used.
The CDFI Fund may collect information from each Recipient
including, but not limited to, an Annual Report with the following
components:
[[Page 18647]]
Table 7--Reporting Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Statement Audit Recipients must submit the FSA report to
Report (FSA report). the CDFI Fund via AMIS.
Use of BEA Program Award Recipients must submit the Use of Award
Report--for all Recipients. report to the CDFI Fund via AMIS.
Use of BEA Program Award The CDFI Fund will require each Recipient
Report--Funds Deployed in with Persistent Poverty County
Persistent Poverty Counties. commitments to report data for Award
funds deployed in persistent poverty
counties and maintain proper supporting
documentation and records which are
subject to review by the CDFI Fund.
Explanation of Noncompliance If the Recipient fails to meet a
(as applicable) or successor Performance Goal or reporting
report. requirement, it must submit the
Explanation of Noncompliance via AMIS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Recipient is responsible for the timely and complete
submission of the reporting requirements. The CDFI Fund reserves the
right to contact the Recipient to request additional information and
documentation. The CDFI Fund may consider financial information filed
with Federal regulators during its compliance review. The CDFI Fund
will use such information to monitor each Recipient's compliance with
the requirements in the Award Agreement and to assess the impact of the
BEA Program. The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion,
to modify these reporting requirements if it determines it to be
appropriate and necessary; however, such reporting requirements will be
modified only after notice has been provided to Recipients.
E. Financial Management and Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require
Recipients to maintain financial management and accounting systems that
comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions
of the award. These systems must be sufficient to permit the
preparation of reports required by general and program specific terms
and conditions, including the tracing of funds to a level of
expenditures adequate to establish that such funds have been used
according to the Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the award.
Each of the Qualified Activities categories will be ineligible for
indirect costs and an associated indirect cost rate. The cost
principles used by Recipients must be consistent with Federal cost
principles and support the accumulation of costs as required by the
principles, and must provide for adequate documentation to support
costs charged to the BEA Program Award. In addition, the CDFI Fund will
require Recipients to: maintain effective internal controls; comply
with applicable statutes, regulations, and the Award Agreement;
evaluate and monitor compliance; take action when not in compliance;
and safeguard personally identifiable information.
VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
A. Questions Related to Application and Prior Recipient Reporting,
Compliance and Disbursements: The CDFI Fund will respond to questions
concerning this NOFA, the Application and reporting, compliance, or
disbursements between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time, starting on the date that this NOFA is published through the date
listed in Table 1. The CDFI Fund will post responses to frequently
asked questions in a separate document on its website. Other
information regarding the CDFI Fund and its programs may be obtained
from the CDFI Fund's website at https://www.cdfifund.gov.
The following table lists contact information for the CDFI Fund,
Grants.gov and SAM:
Table 8--Contact Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telephone
Type of question number (not Electronic contact
toll free) method
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA Program....................... 202-653-0421 BEA AMIS Service
Request.
Certification, Compliance 202-653-0423 BEA Compliance and
Monitoring, and Evaluation. Reporting AMIS
Service Request.
AMIS--IT Help Desk................ 202-653-0422 IT AMIS Service
Request.
Grants.gov Help Desk.............. 800-518-4726 [email protected].
SAM.gov (Federal Service Desk).... 866-606-8220 Web form via https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/login.do.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Information Technology Support: People who have visual or
mobility impairments that prevent them from using the CDFI Fund's
website should call (202) 653-0422 for assistance (this is not a toll
free number).
C. Communication with the CDFI Fund: The CDFI Fund will use its
AMIS internet interface to communicate with Applicants and Recipients
under this NOFA. Recipients must use AMIS to submit required reports.
The CDFI Fund will notify Recipients by email using the addresses
maintained in each Recipient's AMIS account. Therefore, a Recipient and
any Subsidiaries, signatories, and Affiliates must maintain accurate
contact information (including contact person and authorized
representative, email addresses, fax numbers, phone numbers, and office
addresses) in their AMIS account(s).
D. Civil Rights and Diversity: Any person who is eligible to
receive benefits or services from CDFI Fund or Recipients under any of
its programs is entitled to those benefits or services without being
subject to prohibited discrimination. The Department of the Treasury's
Office of Civil Rights and Diversity enforces various Federal statutes
and regulations that prohibit discrimination in financially assisted
and conducted programs and activities of the CDFI Fund. If a person
believes that s/he has been subjected to discrimination and/or reprisal
because of membership in a protected group, s/he may file a complaint
with:
[[Page 18648]]
Associate Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Civil Rights, and
Diversity, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20220 or (202)
622-1160 (not a toll-free number).
VIII. Other Information
A. Reasonable Accommodations: Requests for reasonable
accommodations under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act should be
directed to Mr. Jay Santiago, Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury, at
[email protected] no later than 72 hours in advance of the
application deadline.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. chapter 35), an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection
of information, and an individual is not required to respond to a
collection of information, unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, the BEA Program
funding Application has been assigned the following control number:
1559-0005.
C. Application Information Sessions: The CDFI Fund may conduct
webinars or host information sessions for organizations that are
considering applying to, or are interested in learning about, the CDFI
Fund's programs. For further information, please visit the CDFI Fund's
website at https://www.cdfifund.gov.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1834a, 4703, 4703 note, 4713; 12 CFR part
1806.
Jodie Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2019-08787 Filed 4-30-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P