Funding Opportunities: Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program; FY 2023 Funding Round, 19714-19727 [2023-06827]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 63 / Monday, April 3, 2023 / Notices
OMB Control No. 1513–NEW
Title: Combined Alcohol Excise Tax
Return and Simplified Operations
Report—Pilot Test.
TTB Form Number: To be determined.
Abstract: Under the IRC at 26 U.S.C.
5061, the Federal excise tax on distilled
spirits, wine, and beer is collected on
the basis of a return which taxpayers file
on a semi-monthly, quarterly, or annual
basis, depending on the amount of their
annual tax liability (see 26 U.S.C.
5061(d)(4)). In addition, under the IRC
at 26 U.S.C. 5207, 5367, and 5415,
taxpayers for distilled spirits, wine, and
beer respectively, must furnish reports
of operations and transactions as the
Secretary prescribes by regulation.
Currently, under those IRC
authorities, the TTB regulations in 27
CFR chapter I require alcohol excise
taxpayers to report their excise tax
liability using form TTB F 5000.24,
Excise Tax Return, approved under
OMB No. 1513–0083. In addition,
alcohol excise taxpayers must file
operations reports accounting for their
production, removals, losses, and
certain other matters that effect their
excise tax liability. Distilled spirits
plant proprietors file up to four separate
operations reports on a monthly basis
on TTB F 5110.11, TTB F 5110.28, TTB
F 5110.40, and TTB F 5110.43,
approved under OMB Nos. 1513–0039,
1513–0041, 1513–0047, and 1513–0049,
concerning, respectively, storage,
processing, production, and denaturing
operations. Wine premises proprietors
file monthly operations reports on TTB
F 5120.17, approved under OMB No.
1513–0053. Brewers, depending on their
annual tax liability, file operations
reports either on a monthly basis using
TTB F 5130.9 or on a quarterly basis
using TTB F 5130.9 or TTB F 5130.26,
both of which are approved under OMB
No. 1513–0007.
As part of TTB’s efforts to lower
respondent burden, the Bureau is
developing a combined tax return and
simplified operations report and intends
to pilot the use of it with alcohol excise
taxpayers. Under this pilot, alcohol
excise taxpayers will submit a
letterhead application to join the pilot
program as an alternative method to
their filing the current tax return and
operations reports under existing
regulatory requirements. Once
approved, taxpayers participating in the
pilot program will file their combined
alcohol excise return and simplified
operations report under the due dates
currently applicable to their excise tax
returns.
The collected information will allow
TTB to identify the excise taxpayer, the
amount of taxes due, and the amount of
payments made. Additionally, the
collected information will allow TTB to
identify the amount of distilled spirits,
wine, or beer the taxpayer produced,
removed, transferred, and disposed of
during the reporting period, which
effects the amount of alcohol excise tax
due, while reducing the overall burden
of filing separate tax returns and
operations reports.
Current Actions: This is a new
information collection pilot program
and, as such, there are no program
changes or adjustments associated with
it.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profits.
• Number of Respondents: 10,000.
• Average Responses per Respondent:
5.8.
• Number of Responses: 58,000.
• Average per-response Burden: 1.0
hour.
• Total Burden: 58,000 hours.
Dated: March 28, 2023.
Amy R. Greenberg,
Director, Regulations and Rulings Division.
[FR Doc. 2023–06762 Filed 3–31–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–31–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund
Funding Opportunities: Bank
Enterprise Award (BEA) Program; FY
2023 Funding Round
Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of
Funds Availability (NOFA) inviting
Applications for the Fiscal Year (FY)
2023 Funding Round of the Bank
Enterprise Award Program (BEA
Program).
Announcement Type: Announcement
of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI–
2023–BEA.
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.021.
Dates:
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TABLE 1—FY 2023 BEA PROGRAM FUNDING ROUND—KEY DATES FOR APPLICANTS
Time
(eastern
time—ET)
Description
Deadline
Contact information
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 2, 2023 .......
11:59 p.m
Contact Grants.gov at 800–518–4726 or support@
grants.gov.
May 2, 2023 .......
5 p.m
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 2023 BEA Program Electronic Application in AMIS.
FY 2023 BEA Program Electronic Application ............
May 30, 2023 .....
5 p.m
May 30, 2023 .....
5 p.m
May 30, 2023 .....
5 p.m
June 1, 2023 ......
5 p.m
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: 202–653–0421 or IT AMIS
Service Request.5
June 1, 2023 ......
5 p.m
CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk: 202–653–0422 or IT AMIS
Service Request.6
Submission Method: Electronically via AMIS.
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.
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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 Program’’ 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 and 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.
Executive Summary: This NOFA is
issued in connection with the fiscal year
(FY) 2023 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.
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
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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
Administrative Requirements) for a
complete understanding of the BEA
Program. Capitalized terms in this
NOFA are defined in the authorizing
statute, the Interim Rule, this NOFA, the
Application, or the Uniform
Administrative 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 part 200): The Uniform
Administrative Requirements codify
financial, administrative, procurement,
and program management standards
that Federal award-making agencies and
Award 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 Award 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
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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
2023 funding round, the Baseline Period
is (January 1, 2020 through June 30,
2021), and the Assessment Period is
(July 1, 2021 through December 31,
2022).
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, 2023 (Pub. L. 117–
328), 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, including county equivalent
areas in Puerto Rico, that has had 20
percent or more of its population living
in poverty over the past 30 years, as
measured by the 1990, 2000, and 2010
decennial censuses, and the 2016–2020
5-year data series available from the
American Community Survey of the
Census Bureau or any other territory or
possession of the United States that has
had 20 percent or more of its population
living in poverty over the past 30 years,
as measured by the 1990, 2000 and 2010
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Island Areas Decennial Censuses, or
equivalent data, of the Bureau of the
Census and published by the CDFI Fund
at: https://www.cdfifund.gov/sites/cdfi/
files/2023-03/PPC_2020_ACS_Jan20_
2023.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 $70
million for the FY 2023 BEA Program
Award 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 Award
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 2023 funding round will
begin in the fall of calendar year 2023.
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 Award Recipient must meet
the performance goals set forth in the
Award Agreement.
D. Eligible Activities: Eligible
activities for BEA Program Applicants
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
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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,
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 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/applystep:, 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
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Program, a Low-Income Community as
defined by the NMTC Program, or an
Area of Economic Distress as defined by
the Capital Magnet Fund 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, EquityLike 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 Award
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 Award Recipients
to recover overhead or Indirect Costs.
The Award Recipient may use up to 15
percent 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 Award Recipient to carry out the
Qualified Activities. Such costs must be
able to be specifically identified with
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the Qualified Activities and not also
recovered as Indirect Costs. ‘‘Indirect
Costs’’ means costs or expenses defined
in accordance with section 2 CFR 200.1
of the Uniform Requirements. In
addition, the Award Recipient must
comply, as applicable, with the Buy
American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–
8303 and section 2 CFR 200.216 of the
Uniform Requirements,7 with respect to
any Direct Costs.
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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 2023 funding round, an Applicant must have been FDIC-insured as of the first day of the Baseline
Period, January 1, 2020, and maintain its FDIC-insured status at the time of Application to be eligible for consideration for a BEA Program Award under this NOFA.
• For the FY 2023 funding round, an eligible Certified-CDFI Applicant is an Insured Depository Institution that is
certified as of the publication date of this NOFA in the Federal Register, or has submitted a Certification Application by September 30, 2022 and maintains or receives its status as a Certified CDFI at the time BEA Program Awards are announced.
• No Applicant may receive a FY 2023 BEA Program Award, either directly or through a community partnership,
if it has: (1) an application pending for assistance under the CDFI Program; (2) 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
2023 BEA Program Award Agreement; (3) ever received assistance under the CDFI Program based on the
same activities during the same period for which it is seeking a FY 2023 BEA Program Award; or (4) ever received assistance from another CDFI Fund program or federal program based on the same activities during the
same period for which it is seeking a FY 2023 BEA Program Award.
• 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 AWARD RECIPIENTS
Criteria
Description
Pending resolution of Default
or Noncompliance.
• If an Applicant (or Affiliate of an Applicant) that is a prior Award Recipient or Allocatee under any CDFI Fund
program: (i) has demonstrated it is in noncompliance with or default of 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 or default.
• 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 and 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.
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Default or Noncompliance
status.
C. Contact the CDFI Fund:
Accordingly, Applicants that are prior
Award Recipients and/or Allocatees
under any CDFI Fund program are
advised to comply with requirements
specified in an assistance agreement,
award 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
7§ 200.216 Prohibition on certain
telecommunications and video surveillance services
or equipment.
(a) Recipients and subrecipients are prohibited
from obligating or expending loan or grant funds to:
(1) Procure or obtain;
(2) Extend or renew a contract to procure or
obtain; or
(3) Enter into a contract (or extend or renew a
contract) to procure or obtain, equipment, services,
or systems that uses covered telecommunications
equipment or services as a substantial or essential
component of any system, or as critical technology
as part of any system. As described in Public Law
115–232, section 889, covered telecommunications
equipment is telecommunications equipment
produced by Huawei Technologies Company or
ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliated of
such entities).
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hours of 9 a.m. and 5 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 received after 5 p.m.
ET on May 30, 2023, until after the
Application deadline. The CDFI Fund
will respond to technical issues related
to AMIS Accounts through 5 p.m. ET on
June 1, 2023, 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 2023 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 2023 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
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item, the SF–424 Mandatory. In order to
register with Grants.gov, Applicants
must have a UEI (Unique Entity
Identifier) 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 2, 2023.
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 electronically
retrieves 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
2023 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
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with a FY 2023 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 2023 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 2023 BEA
Application in AMIS. Applicants will
not be able to submit their FY 2023 BEA
Program Application without
completing this step.
Applicants are advised that the
lookup function in the FY 2023 BEA
Application in AMIS, uses the UEI
reported on the validated Grant
Application Package to match it with
the correct AMIS Organization account.
Therefore, Applicants must make sure
the UEI included in the Grant
Application Package submitted in
Grants.gov matches the UEI in their
AMIS Organization account. If, for
example, the UEI does not match
because the Applicant inadvertently
used the UEI 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 2023
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. Unique Entity Identifier: The
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) has
replaced the Dun and Bradstreet
Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number. The UEI, generated in the
System for Award Management
(SAM.gov), has become the official
identifier for doing business with the
federal government. This transition
allows the federal government to
streamline the entity identification and
validation process, making it easier and
less burdensome for entities to do
business with the federal government. If
an entity is registered in SAM.gov today,
its UEI has already been assigned and is
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viewable in SAM.gov, this includes
inactive registrations. New registrants
will be assigned a UEI as part of their
SAM registration.
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 2023 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 four
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 UEI is required by SAM and
must be mailed to the Federal Service
Desk.
This requirement is applicable to new
entities registering in SAM or on
existing registrations where there is no
existing entity administrator. Existing
entities with registered entity
administrators do not need to submit an
annual notarized letter. Applicants that
have previously completed the SAM
registration process must verify that
their SAM accounts are current and
active. 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.
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
2023 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 2023 BEA Program
Application in AMIS, the CDFI Fund’s
web-based portal. All Applicants must
register User and Organization accounts
in AMIS by May 2, 2023. In addition, all
BEA transactions must be finalized in
AMIS by May 30, 2023; this includes
address/census tract verification. No
transactions can be added, edited, or
deleted after this deadline. Failure to
register and complete a FY 2023 BEA
Program Application in AMIS in
accordance with the deadlines noted in
Table 1: FY 2023 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
Award 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, UEI, 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 UEIs 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 2023 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 2023 BEA FUNDING ROUND
Description
Deadline
Grant Application Package/SF–424 Mandatory Submission Method: Electronically via
Grants.gov.
FY 2023 BEA Program Application Submission Method: Electronically via AMIS ......................
May 2, 2023 2023 .......
11:59 p.m. ET.
June 1, 2023 2023 ......
5 p.m. 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 2023 BEA
Program Application was successfully
submitted in AMIS. Applicants should
note that the Grant Application Package
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consists solely of the SF–424 Mandatory
and has a different deadline than the FY
2023 BEA Program Application. These
deadlines are provided above in Table 4:
FY 2023 BEA Program Funding Round
Critical Deadlines for Applicants. If the
Grant Application Package is not
successfully submitted and
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Time (eastern time)
subsequently validated by Grants.gov by
the deadline, the CDFI Fund will not
review the FY 2023 BEA Program
Application or any of the Application
related material submitted in AMIS and
the Application will be deemed
ineligible.
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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 2023 BEA Program Application
in AMIS.
Applicants will not receive an email
confirming that their FY 2023 BEA
Program Application was successfully
submitted in AMIS. Instead, Applicants
should check their AMIS account to
ensure that the status of the FY 2023
BEA Program Application shows
‘‘Under Review.’’ Step-by-step
instructions for submitting an FY 2023
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
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can only associate one with its FY 2023
BEA Program Application in AMIS.
Applicants can only submit one FY
2023 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 2023 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. 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 2023 BEA Late
Application Submission Request.’’
I. Funding Restrictions: BEA Program
Awards are limited by the following:
1. The Award Recipient shall use BEA
Program Award funds only for the
eligible activities described in Section
II. D. of this NOFA and the Authorized
BEA Program Activities described in its
Award Agreement.
2. The Award 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 Award
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
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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.
The CDFI Fund will not collect or
accept any Personally Identifiable
Information (PII) in AMIS or in any of
the Application submission materials.
PII is information, which if lost,
compromised, or disclosed without
authorization, could result in
substantial harm, embarrassment,
inconvenience, or unfairness to an
individual. Although Applicants are
required to enter addresses of individual
borrowers/residents of Distressed
Communities in AMIS, Applicants must
not include the following PII for the
individuals who received the financial
products or services in AMIS or in the
supporting documentation: name of the
individual, Social Security Number,
driver’s license or state identification
number, passport number, and Alien
Registration Number. This information
should be redacted from all supporting
documentation. If the CDFI Fund
discovers PII during the review of an
Application, the transaction will be
deleted from the application record and
deemed ineligible.
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
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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
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: 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/
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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
interest rate over the life of the CD, in
the determination of the CDFI Fund. If
a variable rate is used, the Applicant
must describe its methodology for
determining that the interest rate over
the life of the CD is a materially below
market interest rate. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to follow up with an
Applicant regarding variable interest
rate CD transactions.
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
specified in this NOFA 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
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19721
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
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
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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
currently provided to the Distressed
Community.
c. Small Dollar Consumer Loan: For
purposes of this NOFA, eligible Small
Dollar Consumer Loans are responsible
and 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. A responsible Small
Dollar Loan generally considers the
borrower’s ability to repay and may also
reflect repayment terms, pricing, and
safeguards that minimize adverse
customer outcomes, including cycles of
debt due to rollovers or reborrowing.
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 2023 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 Award
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 2023
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, 2022)
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:
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TABLE 5—CRA ASSET SIZE CLASSIFICATION
Priority factor
Small institutions (assets of less than $376 million as of 12/31/2022) ...............................................................................................
Intermediate—small institutions (assets of at least $376 million but less than $1.503 billion as of 12/31/2022) ..............................
Large institutions (assets of $1.503 billion or greater as of 12/31/2022) ...........................................................................................
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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
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
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.
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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 the 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
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19723
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.
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, Award 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.
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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
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:
(i) 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; or (iii) a Prompt Corrective
Action directive from its regulator
imposing restrictions on its level of
lending activities, 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 for:
activities which funding has been
requested, activities which meet the
BEA Program criteria of Qualified
Activities, or other circumstances which
may impact an Applicant’s ability to
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successfully manage, re-invest, and/or
report on a FY 2023 BEA Program
Award.
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 FY 2023 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 FY 2023
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
2023 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 2023 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 2023 BEA Program
Application or provide reasons why an
Applicant was not selected to receive a
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FY 2023 BEA Program Award. The CDFI
Fund will only respond to general
questions regarding the FY 2023 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 2023 BEA
Program award announcement in the
summer of 2023. 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 an Award 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 Award Recipient is required to sign
the Award Agreement via an electronic
signature in AMIS. The CDFI Fund will
subsequently execute the Award
Agreement. Each Award 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 Award Recipient’s
eligibility for an award; the CDFI Fund’s
evaluation of the Application; the
Award Recipient’s compliance with any
requirement listed in the Uniform
Requirements; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Award
Recipient’s part, the CDFI Fund may, in
its discretion and without advance
notice to the Award Recipient,
terminate the award or take other
actions as it deems appropriate.
If the Award 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
Award Recipient’s non-CDFI status.
By executing an Award Agreement,
the Award 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 Award
Recipient’s eligibility for an award, or
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adversely affects the CDFI Fund’s
evaluation of the Award Recipient’s
Application, or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the part of the
Award Recipient, the CDFI Fund may,
in its discretion and without advance
notice to the Award 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 Award Recipient fails to return the
Award Agreement, signed by the
authorized representative of the Award
Recipient, and/or provide the CDFI
Fund with any other requested
19725
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-insured status .............
• If prior to entering into an Award Agreement under this NOFA, the Award Recipient does
not maintain its FDIC-insured status, the CDFI Fund will terminate and/or rescind the Award
Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• If an Applicant is a prior CDFI Fund Award 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
Award 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 Award 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 Award Recipient or Allocatee under any
CDFI Fund program: (i) has demonstrated it has been in noncompliance with or in default of
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 in 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 payment of award proceeds, pending full resolution, in the sole determination of the
CDFI Fund, of the noncompliance or default.
• If said prior Award 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 Award 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, within the period starting three years prior to this NOFA and through the date of the
Award Agreement, the Recipient received a final determination, in any proceeding instituted
against the Recipient in, by, or before any court, governmental, or administrative body or
agency, declaring that the Recipient violated any federal civil rights laws or regulations, including: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and the Age Discrimination Act of
1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101–6107), the CDFI Fund may 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 Award
Recipient (or Affiliate of a Recipient) is identified as ineligible to be an Award Recipient per
the Do Not Pay database.
• If it is determined the Award Recipient is or will be incapable of meeting its award obligations, the CDFI Fund will deem the Award Recipient to be ineligible or require it to improve
safety and soundness conditions prior to entering into an Award Agreement.
Failure to meet reporting requirements ...............
Pending resolution of Default or Noncompliance
Default or Noncompliance status ........................
Compliance with Federal civil rights requirements.
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Do Not Pay ..........................................................
Safety and Soundness ........................................
C. Award Agreement: After the CDFI
Fund selects an Award Recipient,
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NOFA applies, the CDFI Fund and the
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Award Recipient will enter into an
Award Agreement. The Award
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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 an Award
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
Award Recipient has fulfilled all
applicable requirements; and (iii) use
the BEA Program Award amount for
Qualified Activities. Award 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 Award
Recipient to account for and report to
the CDFI Fund on the use of the award.
This will require Award Recipients to
establish administrative controls,
subject to applicable OMB Circulars.
The CDFI Fund will collect information
from each such Award 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 Award 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 Award Recipient
including, but not limited to, an Annual
Report with the following components:
TABLE 7—REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Criteria
Description
Use of BEA Program Award Report—for all
Award Recipients.
Use of BEA Program Award Report—Funds Deployed in Persistent Poverty Counties—as applicable.
Explanation of Noncompliance or successor report—as applicable.
Each Award Recipient is responsible
for the timely and complete submission
of the reporting requirements. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to contact the
Award 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 Award
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 Award
Recipients.
E. Financial Management and
Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require
Award Recipients to maintain financial
management and accounting systems
that comply with federal statutes,
Award Recipients must submit the Use of Award Report to the CDFI Fund via AMIS.
The CDFI Fund will require each Award 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 Award Recipient fails to meet a Performance Goal or reporting requirement, it must submit the Explanation of Noncompliance via AMIS.
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 Award
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 Award 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, as
described in Section V.A. of this NOFA.
VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
A. Questions Related to Application
and Prior Award 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
a.m. and 5 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 No.
(not toll free)
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Type of question
BEA Program ............................................................................
Certification, Compliance Monitoring, and Evaluation .............
AMIS—IT Help Desk ................................................................
Grants.gov Help Desk ..............................................................
SAM.gov (Federal Service Desk) .............................................
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:14 Mar 31, 2023
Jkt 259001
PO 00000
Frm 00122
(202)
(202)
(202)
(800)
(866)
653–0421
653–0423
653–0422
518–4726
606–8220
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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.
E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM
03APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 63 / Monday, April 3, 2023 / Notices
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 Award Recipients under
this NOFA. Award Recipients must use
AMIS to submit required reports. The
CDFI Fund will notify Award Recipients
by email using the addresses maintained
in each Award Recipient’s AMIS
account. Therefore, an Award 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 Equal
Opportunity: Any person who is eligible
to receive benefits or services from the
CDFI Fund or its Recipients under any
of its programs is entitled to those
benefits or services without being
subjected to prohibited discrimination.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office
of Civil Rights and Equal Employment
Opportunity 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 they have been subjected to
discrimination because of their race,
color, national origin, age, sex, disability
and/or reprisal, they may file a
complaint with: Director, Office of Civil
Rights and Equal Employment
Opportunity, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW, Washington, DC 20220 or by email
at crcomplaints@treasury.gov.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:14 Mar 31, 2023
Jkt 259001
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 L. Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2023–06827 Filed 3–31–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–70–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request for Form 8908
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Internal Revenue Service,
as part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Currently, the IRS is soliciting
comments concerning Form 8908,
Energy Efficient Home Credit.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before June 2, 2023 to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Andre´s Garcia, Internal Revenue
Service, Room 6526, 1111 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224, or
by email to pra.comments@irs.gov.
Please include, ‘‘OMB Number: 1545–
1979, Form 8908—Energy Efficient
Home Credit’’ in the subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the form and instructions
should be directed to LaNita Van Dyke,
at (202) 317–6009, at Internal Revenue
Service, Room 6526, 1111 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224, or
through the internet at
Lanita.VanDyke@irs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Energy Efficient Home Credit.
OMB Number: 1545–1979.
Form Number: Form 8908.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00123
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
19727
Abstract: The IRS created Form 8908
to reflect new code section 45L which
allows qualified contractors to claim a
credit for each qualified energy-efficient
home sold. Eligible contractors use
Form 8908 to claim a credit for each
qualified energy efficient home sold or
leased to another person during the tax
year for use as a residence. The credit
is based on the energy saving
requirements of the home. The credit is
part of the general business credit.
Current Actions: There are no changes
being made to the form at this time.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Businesses and other
for-profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
1,980.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 2.59
minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 5,128.
The following paragraph applies to all
of the collections of information covered
by this notice:
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless the collection of information
displays a valid OMB control number.
Books or records relating to a collection
of information must be retained as long
as their contents may become material
in the administration of any internal
revenue law. Generally, tax returns and
tax return information are confidential,
as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.
Request for Comments: Comments
submitted in response to this notice will
be summarized and/or included in the
request for OMB approval. All
comments will become a matter of
public record. Comments are invited on:
(a) whether the collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology;
and (e) estimates of capital or start-up
costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services
to provide information.
Approved: March 29, 2023.
Molly J. Stasko,
Senior Tax Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2023–06821 Filed 3–31–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM
03APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 63 (Monday, April 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19714-19727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06827]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Funding Opportunities: Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program; FY
2023 Funding Round
Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA)
inviting Applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Funding Round of
the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program).
Announcement Type: Announcement of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI-2023-BEA.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.021.
Dates:
Table 1--FY 2023 BEA Program Funding Round--Key Dates for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description Deadline Time (eastern time--ET) Contact information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant Application Package/SF-424 May 2, 2023............ 11:59 p.m Contact Grants.gov at
Mandatory (Application for Federal 800-518-4726 or
Assistance). [email protected].
Submission Method: Electronically
via Grants.gov.
Last day to register a user and May 2, 2023............ 5 p.m CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk:
organization in AMIS. 202-653-0422 or IT
Award Management
Information System
(AMIS) Service
Request.\1\
Last day to enter, edit or delete May 30, 2023........... 5 p.m CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk:
BEA transactions, and verify 202-653-0422 or IT
addresses/census tracts in AMIS. AMIS Service
Request.\2\
Last day to contact BEA Program May 30, 2023........... 5 p.m CDFI Fund BEA Helpdesk:
Staff re: BEA Program Application 202-653-0421 or BEA
materials. AMIS Service
Request.\3\
Last day to contact Certification, May 30, 2023........... 5 p.m CCME Helpdesk: 202-653-
Compliance Monitoring and 0423 or Compliance and
Evaluation (CCME) staff. Reporting AMIS Service
Request.\4\
Last day to contact IT Help Desk re: June 1, 2023........... 5 p.m CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk:
AMIS support and submission of the 202-653-0421 or IT
FY 2023 BEA Program Electronic AMIS Service
Application in AMIS. Request.\5\
FY 2023 BEA Program Electronic June 1, 2023........... 5 p.m CDFI Fund IT Helpdesk:
Application. 202-653-0422 or IT
AMIS Service
Request.\6\
Submission Method: Electronically
via AMIS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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.
[[Page 19715]]
\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
Program'' 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 and 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.
Executive Summary: This NOFA is issued in connection with the
fiscal year (FY) 2023 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.
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.
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 Administrative Requirements) for a complete
understanding of the BEA Program. Capitalized terms in this NOFA are
defined in the authorizing statute, the Interim Rule, this NOFA, the
Application, or the Uniform Administrative 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 part 200): The Uniform
Administrative Requirements codify financial, administrative,
procurement, and program management standards that Federal award-making
agencies and Award 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 Award 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 2023 funding round,
the Baseline Period is (January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021), and the
Assessment Period is (July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022).
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, 2023 (Pub. L. 117-328), 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, including
county equivalent areas in Puerto Rico, that has had 20 percent or more
of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured
by the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial censuses, and the 2016-2020 5-
year data series available from the American Community Survey of the
Census Bureau or any other territory or possession of the United States
that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty
over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990, 2000 and 2010
[[Page 19716]]
Island Areas Decennial Censuses, or equivalent data, of the Bureau of
the Census and published by the CDFI Fund at: https://www.cdfifund.gov/sites/cdfi/files/2023-03/PPC_2020_ACS_Jan20_2023.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 $70
million for the FY 2023 BEA Program Award 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 Award 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 2023 funding round
will begin in the fall of calendar year 2023. 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 Award Recipient must meet the performance goals set forth in
the Award Agreement.
D. Eligible Activities: Eligible activities for BEA Program
Applicants 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, 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 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/apply-step:, 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 Capital Magnet Fund
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 Award 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 Award Recipients to recover overhead or
Indirect Costs. The Award Recipient may use up to 15 percent 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 Award Recipient to carry out
the Qualified Activities. Such costs must be able to be specifically
identified with
[[Page 19717]]
the Qualified Activities and not also recovered as Indirect Costs.
``Indirect Costs'' means costs or expenses defined in accordance with
section 2 CFR 200.1 of the Uniform Requirements. In addition, the Award
Recipient must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American Act of
1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303 and section 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements,\7\ with respect to any Direct Costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\Sec. 200.216 Prohibition on certain telecommunications and
video surveillance services or equipment.
(a) Recipients and subrecipients are prohibited from obligating
or expending loan or grant funds to:
(1) Procure or obtain;
(2) Extend or renew a contract to procure or obtain; or
(3) Enter into a contract (or extend or renew a contract) to
procure or obtain, equipment, services, or systems that uses covered
telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or
essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part
of any system. As described in Public Law 115-232, section 889,
covered telecommunications equipment is telecommunications equipment
produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any
subsidiary or affiliated of such entities).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 2023 funding round,
an Applicant must have been FDIC-insured
as of the first day of the Baseline
Period, January 1, 2020, and maintain
its FDIC-insured status at the time of
Application to be eligible for
consideration for a BEA Program Award
under this NOFA.
CDFI Applicant............... For the FY 2023 funding round,
an eligible Certified-CDFI Applicant is
an Insured Depository Institution that
is certified as of the publication date
of this NOFA in the Federal Register, or
has submitted a Certification
Application by September 30, 2022 and
maintains or receives its status as a
Certified CDFI at the time BEA Program
Awards are announced.
No Applicant may receive a FY
2023 BEA Program Award, either directly
or through a community partnership, if
it has: (1) an application pending for
assistance under the CDFI Program; (2)
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 2023 BEA Program
Award Agreement; (3) ever received
assistance under the CDFI Program based
on the same activities during the same
period for which it is seeking a FY 2023
BEA Program Award; or (4) ever received
assistance from another CDFI Fund
program or federal program based on the
same activities during the same period
for which it is seeking a FY 2023 BEA
Program Award.
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 Award
Recipients
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pending resolution of Default If an Applicant (or Affiliate of
or Noncompliance. an Applicant) that is a prior Award
Recipient or Allocatee under any CDFI
Fund program: (i) has demonstrated it is
in noncompliance with or default of 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 or default.
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 and 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
Award Recipients and/or Allocatees under any CDFI Fund program are
advised to comply with requirements specified in an assistance
agreement, award 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
[[Page 19718]]
hours of 9 a.m. and 5 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
received after 5 p.m. ET on May 30, 2023, until after the Application
deadline. The CDFI Fund will respond to technical issues related to
AMIS Accounts through 5 p.m. ET on June 1, 2023, 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 2023 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 2023 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 UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) 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 2, 2023. 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 electronically retrieves 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 2023 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 2023 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 2023 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 2023 BEA Application in AMIS. Applicants will
not be able to submit their FY 2023 BEA Program Application without
completing this step.
Applicants are advised that the lookup function in the FY 2023 BEA
Application in AMIS, uses the UEI reported on the validated Grant
Application Package to match it with the correct AMIS Organization
account. Therefore, Applicants must make sure the UEI included in the
Grant Application Package submitted in Grants.gov matches the UEI in
their AMIS Organization account. If, for example, the UEI does not
match because the Applicant inadvertently used the UEI 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 2023 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. Unique Entity Identifier: The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) has
replaced the Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number. The UEI, generated in the System for Award Management
(SAM.gov), has become the official identifier for doing business with
the federal government. This transition allows the federal government
to streamline the entity identification and validation process, making
it easier and less burdensome for entities to do business with the
federal government. If an entity is registered in SAM.gov today, its
UEI has already been assigned and is
[[Page 19719]]
viewable in SAM.gov, this includes inactive registrations. New
registrants will be assigned a UEI as part of their SAM registration.
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 2023 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 four 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 UEI is required
by SAM and must be mailed to the Federal Service Desk.
This requirement is applicable to new entities registering in SAM
or on existing registrations where there is no existing entity
administrator. Existing entities with registered entity administrators
do not need to submit an annual notarized letter. Applicants that have
previously completed the SAM registration process must verify that
their SAM accounts are current and active. 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.
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 2023
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 2023 BEA Program
Application in AMIS, the CDFI Fund's web-based portal. All Applicants
must register User and Organization accounts in AMIS by May 2, 2023. In
addition, all BEA transactions must be finalized in AMIS by May 30,
2023; this includes address/census tract verification. No transactions
can be added, edited, or deleted after this deadline. Failure to
register and complete a FY 2023 BEA Program Application in AMIS in
accordance with the deadlines noted in Table 1: FY 2023 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 Award 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, UEI, 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 UEIs 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 2023 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 2023 BEA Funding Round
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time (eastern
Description Deadline time)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant Application Package/SF-424 May 2, 2023 2023.. 11:59 p.m. ET.
Mandatory Submission Method:
Electronically via Grants.gov.
FY 2023 BEA Program Application June 1, 2023 2023. 5 p.m. 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 2023 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 2023 BEA Program Application.
These deadlines are provided above in Table 4: FY 2023 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 2023 BEA Program Application or any of the Application related
material submitted in AMIS and the Application will be deemed
ineligible.
[[Page 19720]]
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
2023 BEA Program Application in AMIS.
Applicants will not receive an email confirming that their FY 2023
BEA Program Application was successfully submitted in AMIS. Instead,
Applicants should check their AMIS account to ensure that the status of
the FY 2023 BEA Program Application shows ``Under Review.'' Step-by-
step instructions for submitting an FY 2023 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 2023 BEA Program
Application in AMIS.
Applicants can only submit one FY 2023 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 2023 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. 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
2023 BEA Late Application Submission Request.''
I. Funding Restrictions: BEA Program Awards are limited by the
following:
1. The Award Recipient shall use BEA Program Award funds only for
the eligible activities described in Section II. D. of this NOFA and
the Authorized BEA Program Activities described in its Award Agreement.
2. The Award 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 Award
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.
The CDFI Fund will not collect or accept any Personally
Identifiable Information (PII) in AMIS or in any of the Application
submission materials. PII is information, which if lost, compromised,
or disclosed without authorization, could result in substantial harm,
embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an individual. Although
Applicants are required to enter addresses of individual borrowers/
residents of Distressed Communities in AMIS, Applicants must not
include the following PII for the individuals who received the
financial products or services in AMIS or in the supporting
documentation: name of the individual, Social Security Number, driver's
license or state identification number, passport number, and Alien
Registration Number. This information should be redacted from all
supporting documentation. If the CDFI Fund discovers PII during the
review of an Application, the transaction will be deleted from the
application record and deemed ineligible.
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
[[Page 19721]]
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 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: 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. If
a variable rate is used, the Applicant must describe its methodology
for determining that the interest rate over the life of the CD is a
materially below market interest rate. The CDFI Fund reserves the right
to follow up with an Applicant regarding variable interest rate CD
transactions.
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 specified in this NOFA 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
[[Page 19722]]
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 currently provided to the Distressed
Community.
c. Small Dollar Consumer Loan: For purposes of this NOFA, eligible
Small Dollar Consumer Loans are responsible and 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. A responsible Small Dollar Loan generally considers the
borrower's ability to repay and may also reflect repayment terms,
pricing, and safeguards that minimize adverse customer outcomes,
including cycles of debt due to rollovers or reborrowing.
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 2023
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 Award 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 2023 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, 2022) 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 $376 million as 5.0
of 12/31/2022).........................................
Intermediate--small institutions (assets of at least 3.0
$376 million but less than $1.503 billion as of 12/31/
2022)..................................................
Large institutions (assets of $1.503 billion or greater 1.0
as of 12/31/2022)......................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 19723]]
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 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 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 the 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.
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, Award
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.
[[Page 19724]]
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 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:
(i) 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; or (iii) a Prompt Corrective
Action directive from its regulator imposing restrictions on its level
of lending activities, 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 for: activities which funding
has been requested, activities which meet the BEA Program criteria of
Qualified Activities, or other circumstances which may impact an
Applicant's ability to successfully manage, re-invest, and/or report on
a FY 2023 BEA Program Award.
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 FY 2023
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 FY 2023 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 2023 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 2023 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 2023 BEA Program Application or
provide reasons why an Applicant was not selected to receive a FY 2023
BEA Program Award. The CDFI Fund will only respond to general questions
regarding the FY 2023 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 2023 BEA Program award announcement in the
summer of 2023. 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 an Award 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
Award Recipient is required to sign the Award Agreement via an
electronic signature in AMIS. The CDFI Fund will subsequently execute
the Award Agreement. Each Award 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 Award Recipient's eligibility for an award; the CDFI
Fund's evaluation of the Application; the Award Recipient's compliance
with any requirement listed in the Uniform Requirements; or indicates
fraud or mismanagement on the Award Recipient's part, the CDFI Fund
may, in its discretion and without advance notice to the Award
Recipient, terminate the award or take other actions as it deems
appropriate.
If the Award 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 Award
Recipient's non-CDFI status.
By executing an Award Agreement, the Award 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 Award Recipient's
eligibility for an award, or
[[Page 19725]]
adversely affects the CDFI Fund's evaluation of the Award Recipient's
Application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on the part of the
Award Recipient, the CDFI Fund may, in its discretion and without
advance notice to the Award 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 Award Recipient fails to return the Award
Agreement, signed by the authorized representative of the Award
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-insured If prior to entering into
status. an Award Agreement under this NOFA,
the Award Recipient does not
maintain its FDIC-insured status,
the CDFI Fund will terminate and/or
rescind the Award Agreement and the
award made under this NOFA.
Failure to meet reporting If an Applicant is a prior
requirements. CDFI Fund Award 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 Award 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 Award 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 Default or 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 Award Recipient
or Allocatee under any CDFI Fund
program: (i) has demonstrated it
has been in noncompliance with or
in default of 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 in 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 payment of award
proceeds, pending full resolution,
in the sole determination of the
CDFI Fund, of the noncompliance or
default.
If said prior Award
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 status... 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 Award
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, within the period
rights requirements. starting three years prior to this
NOFA and through the date of the
Award Agreement, the Recipient
received a final determination, in
any proceeding instituted against
the Recipient in, by, or before any
court, governmental, or
administrative body or agency,
declaring that the Recipient
violated any federal civil rights
laws or regulations, including:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000d
et seq.); Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 794); and the Age
Discrimination Act of 1975 (42
U.S.C. 6101-6107), the CDFI Fund
may 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 Award
Recipient (or Affiliate of a
Recipient) is identified as
ineligible to be an Award Recipient
per the Do Not Pay database.
Safety and Soundness.............. If it is determined the
Award Recipient is or will be
incapable of meeting its award
obligations, the CDFI Fund will
deem the Award 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 an Award Recipient,
unless an exception detailed in this NOFA applies, the CDFI Fund and
the Award Recipient will enter into an Award Agreement. The Award
[[Page 19726]]
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 an Award 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 Award Recipient has fulfilled all
applicable requirements; and (iii) use the BEA Program Award amount for
Qualified Activities. Award 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
Award Recipient to account for and report to the CDFI Fund on the use
of the award. This will require Award Recipients to establish
administrative controls, subject to applicable OMB Circulars. The CDFI
Fund will collect information from each such Award 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 Award 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 Award Recipient
including, but not limited to, an Annual Report with the following
components:
Table 7--Reporting Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use of BEA Program Award Report-- Award Recipients must submit the Use
for all Award Recipients. of Award Report to the CDFI Fund
via AMIS.
Use of BEA Program Award Report-- The CDFI Fund will require each
Funds Deployed in Persistent Award Recipient with Persistent
Poverty Counties--as applicable. 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.
Explanation of Noncompliance or If the Award Recipient fails to meet
successor report--as applicable. a Performance Goal or reporting
requirement, it must submit the
Explanation of Noncompliance via
AMIS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Award Recipient is responsible for the timely and complete
submission of the reporting requirements. The CDFI Fund reserves the
right to contact the Award 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 Award 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
Award Recipients.
E. Financial Management and Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require
Award 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 Award 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 Award 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, as described in
Section V.A. of this NOFA.
VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
A. Questions Related to Application and Prior Award 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 a.m. and 5 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 No. Electronic contact
Type of question (not 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 19727]]
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 Award
Recipients under this NOFA. Award Recipients must use AMIS to submit
required reports. The CDFI Fund will notify Award Recipients by email
using the addresses maintained in each Award Recipient's AMIS account.
Therefore, an Award 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 Equal Opportunity: Any person who is eligible
to receive benefits or services from the CDFI Fund or its Recipients
under any of its programs is entitled to those benefits or services
without being subjected to prohibited discrimination. The Department of
the Treasury's Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity
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 they have been
subjected to discrimination because of their race, color, national
origin, age, sex, disability and/or reprisal, they may file a complaint
with: Director, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment
Opportunity, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20220 or by
email at [email protected].
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 L. Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2023-06827 Filed 3-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P
