ByTom Bergeron
August 14, 2023

Community Reinvestment Act, to be announced Monday morning, includes funding for affordable housing, mortgage assistance, small business support and other commitments

TD Bank and two prominent consumer and housing advocates will announce a massive and potentially transformational three-year, $2 billion Community Investment Act agreement Monday morning.

The agreement, which TD Bank is making in partnership with New Jersey Citizen Action and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, includes commitments from TD Bank for investments in affordable housing, affordable mortgage lending, small business lending and other community development projects that will have a significant economic impact on low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color throughout New Jersey.

More specifically, the agreement will include:

• $505 million (in affordable mortgage lending):This will be used to promote affordable homeownership within New Jersey’s LMI communities through a range of affordable mortgage products for home purchase and refinance.
• $600 million (in community development lending) and $210 million (in equity investments): The monies, all of which are to be spent in New Jersey, include financing and equity investment for affordable and mixed-income housing and other community development purposes developed by nonprofit organizations and for-profit developers.
• $700 million (in small business lending) to businesses: The money will be spent exclusively in LMI communities and/or those having gross annual revenue of $1 million or less. This commitment will also make available technical assistance in structuring financing alternatives, and to support organizations that provide financial and technical assistance to small, minority- and women-owned businesses in urban areas.
• Consumer products and services:Efforts will be made to promote financial capability and literacy among LMI communities, to ensure greater economic opportunities for these communities.

The announcement will come at the Highland Park office of New Jersey Citizen Action and is expected to feature:

• Robert Curley, regional president of Pennsylvania/New Jersey Metro, TD Bank;
• Dena Mottola Jaborska, executive director, NJCA;
• Staci Berger, CEO, HCDNNJ;
• Leila Amirhamzeh, director of community reinvestment, NJCA.

While New Jersey is well known as being a progressive state, it has struggled to be an area where low- and moderate-income families have been able to flourish.

In one ranking, New Jersey is rated as the seventh-worst state in terms of key cost indicators such as affordable housing, making community reinvestment agreements critical to providing struggling neighborhoods with the opportunities they need to prosper.

Mottola Jaborska said agreements such as this can help change those metrics. She applauded TD Bank for its New Jersey-specific efforts.

“TD Bank is specifically investing directly into communities that are in need,” she said. “That’s the big deal here. This will be incredibly impactful.”