Underserved businesses and individuals in Arkansas have an opportunity to grab a portion of a $1 billion investment a Mississippi credit union is planning for a five-state region in the Deep South.
Hope Credit Union of Jackson, Miss., announced Thursday it will pour $1 billion into Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee to support upwards of 150,000 homebuyers, businesses and families.
"This will be open across the state," Charity Hallman, Hope's senior vice president of community and economic development in Arkansas, said Thursday, adding that loans will be "demand driven" and no specific amounts are set aside for each state.
This will be the credit union's largest single investment since it began operations in 1994, Hallman said. "This is going to be very catalytic for Hope," she said. "We have had a consistent mission serving underserved communities to help close social, racial and economic gaps. This allows us to enhance that work."
Hope, which is a Black- and women-owned community development financial institution, will use a $92.6 million investment from the U.S. Treasury Department to leverage and attract private funding for the effort.
The organization plans to finance businesses, homebuyers, affordable rental housing, healthcare facilities, schools and nonprofit service providers, among others, over the next decade.
"With this historic investment by the Treasury, Hope will ensure that for families, entrepreneurs and communities in the Delta, in the Black Belt and in rural areas and inner cities throughout the Deep South, access to affordable financial tools will no longer be a barrier to their success," Bill Bynum, the lender's chief executive officer, said in a statement announcing the program.
"This investment allows us to continue what we've been doing, just at a greater volume," Hallman said. "This allows us to increase our loan size and lend to more people on an annual basis than ever before."
The organization, Hallman said, is a "relationship lender" that provides technical support and assistance to borrowers who may have difficulty qualifying for loans.
Hope has three Arkansas offices, two in Little Rock and one in West Memphis. It has more than 36,000 members in the five states where it operates, including more than 3,600 in Arkansas.
More information on the program and applications can be found at hopecu.org.