20 years of Opportunity Finance

1994–2013: An Analysis of Trends and Growth

Final Report
November 10, 2015

20 Years of Opportunity Finance

1994-2013: An Analysis of Trends and Growth
Prepared for
Opportunity Finance Network
620 Chestnut Street, Suite 572
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

Prepared by
BBC Research & Consulting
1999 Broadway, Suite 2200
Denver, Colorado 80202-9750
303.321.2547 fax 303.399.0448
www.bbcresearch.com

Funding for this report was provided by

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
II. Background: The Evolution of OFN and the CDFI Industry
A Brief History of OFN ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... II–1
Defining Moments in CDFI Industry History ................................................................................................................................................................................... II–5
Continuing to Make History ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... II–6
Recognizing Impact and Performance ........................................................................................................................................................................................... II–6
III. Twenty-Year Trends Among OFN Member CDFIs
OFN Member Dataset ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................III–1
Characteristics of OFN Member CDFIs ..........................................................................................................................................................................................III–2
Sources of Borrowed Capital ......................................................................................................................................................................................................III–10
Financial and Portfolio Performance ...........................................................................................................................................................................................III–15
Geographic Focus.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................III–18
Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Diversity ...........................................................................................................................................................................................III–19
IV. Characteristics of High Growth OFN Member CDFIs—Longitudinal Analysis of Long-Time Members
Measures of Growth .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... IV–2
Characteristics of Growth ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ IV–4
V. Key Findings and Opportunities for Future Research
Key Findings from the Trend Analysis (Section III) ......................................................................................................................................................................... V–1
Key Findings from the Growth Analysis (Section IV) ....................................................................................................................................................................... V–2
Opportunities for Future Research ................................................................................................................................................................................................ V–3
Appendix A. Additional Figures and Analyses
Appendix B. Definitions

i
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
20 Years of Opportunity Finance
1994–2013: An Analysis of Trends and Growth
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
20 Years of Opportunity Finance
1994–2013: An Analysis of Trends and Growth
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) provide much needed
capital in areas underserved by conventional banks—particularly during periods
CDFIs foster social and economic progress— of weak economic growth. They often take on what appear to be riskier loans, yet
all the while offering investors one of the safest their financial and portfolio performance are on par with conventional banks:
investments in the financial community. CDFIs’ operating margins and net charge off rates track very closely with FDIC-
insured institutions over the 20-year period of our study and various economic
cycles.

These are the findings of an unprecedented analysis of CDFI performance, impact, and growth over 20 years. Based on Opportunity Finance Network
(OFN) Member data, the study covers the period beginning in 1994, two years before the US Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund issued its first
awards, and ending in 2013, when the nation was still recovering from the Great Recession of 2008.1

OFN Member CDFIs demonstrated strong community impact and performance consistently throughout the 20-year period, even during the Great
Recession.

¾ CDFIs had healthy growth rates throughout the entire 20-year study period, with loans outstanding growing on average by 15 percent per year.2

¾ CDFIs maintained their ability to provide capital in underserved communities, even during recessionary periods when conventional banks
retrenched. CDFIs’ average loans outstanding increased slightly in the wake of the Great Recession (from $28.2 to $28.6 million), helping to create
jobs, housing, and community services during the downturn. In contrast, conventional banks experienced one of the largest lending contractions in
the post-war era—outstanding loans declined by as much as 16 percent between late 2008 and early 2012.3

                                                                                                                                 
1
The number of CDFIs in the dataset ranges from 42 in 1994 to 209 in 2013, including 26 long-time OFN Members who provided data in all or nearly all years.
2
Compound annual growth rate. Based on trend sample of 26 CDFIs.
3
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h8/  

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PAGE 1

¾ CDFIs’ annual loan loss rates are on par with FDIC-insured institutions and their cumulative net loan loss rate is just 1.5 percent.

¾ In each of the past 10 years, CDFIs’ net operating margins were above or very close to those of FDIC-insured institutions.

Figure ES-1. OFN Member CDFIs have a significant impact in the communities they
Cumulative Community Impact Since Inception serve. Current OFN Members are responsible for over $35 billion in
cumulative financing since their inception.

This investment has led to the development and/or rehabilitation of 1.5

million housing units—more than the total number of homes in 22 states;
the financing of 120,000 businesses and microenterprises; creation of
721,000 jobs—more than total jobs in many states; and the financing of
9,500 community services organizations that have expanded or maintained
childcare, education, and healthcare services for thousands of individuals.4

On average, 75 percent of a CDFI’s clients are low-income, 52 percent are

minority, and 48 percent are female.5 While comparable figures are not
available for all conventional bank clients, they are available for
conventional and nonconventional lenders’ home mortgage borrowers: in
2013, 28 percent of home purchase loans went to low-income borrowers,
and 28 percent went to minorities.6

Source: OFN 2013 Side by Side Report and BBC Research & Consulting.

                                                                                                                                 
4
OFN Members report their impacts using OFN’s standard data definitions. Some CDFIs use different definitions and calculations in their own publications.
5
FY2013 OFN Member Data defines low-income as less than or equal to 80 percent of area median family income (AMI).
6
The 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data, Federal Reserve Bulletin, November 2014. http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2014/pdf/2013_HMDA.pdf.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PAGE 2

SECTION I.
Introduction
SECTION I.
Introduction
This report provides an analysis of 20 years of OFN Member survey data. The purpose of the report is to provide CDFIs, their partners, and other
interested parties with an understanding of:

 A brief history of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) and the CDFI industry;

 The evolution of the CDFI industry over 20 years (1994–2013), with a focus on CDFI asset size, sectors served, sources of borrowed funds, financial
performance, and portfolio performance; and

 The characteristics of high growth, moderate growth, and low growth CDFIs.

The OFN history section is based on OFN historical documents that can be found on CDFIs Making History (cdfihistory.ofn.org), OFN’s web-based history
of the CDFI industry. The data analysis is based on proprietary OFN Member survey data. This report offers key findings and suggestions for future
research on topics raised in the report.

Section II provides context through a brief history of OFN and key moments in the CDFI industry’s evolution. Section III offers an analysis of 20 years of
OFN Member data, from 1994 through 2013, with an emphasis on CDFIs’ asset sizes, financing sectors, sources of borrowed funds, and financial and
portfolio performance. Section IV details a trend analysis of 26 CDFIs that have participated in the OFN Member survey for all, or nearly all, 20 years.
Section V offers key findings and suggestions for future research.

SECTION I PAGE 1
SECTION II.
Background: The Evolution of OFN and the CDFI Industry






SECTION III.
Twenty-Year Trends Among OFN Member CDFIs
SECTION III.
Twenty-Year Trends Among OFN Member CDFIs
OFN Member Dataset
OFN maintains financial and organizational data on Member CDFIs through the administration of the Annual Member survey, which is supplemented with
publicly available financial data for regulated institutions. The Annual Member survey has evolved and expanded over time, and the data collected serve
as a rich resource of historical information on OFN Member CDFIs. In its current form, the Annual Member survey includes information on CDFI staffing,
capitalization, lending, investing, and outcomes. OFN manages data quality by providing technical assistance to CDFIs completing the survey, cross-
checking financial fields against audited financial statements after surveys have been submitted, and checking non-financial data for reasonableness.

The primary source of data for this report is the data OFN has collected through its Annual Member survey and publicly available financials for regulated
CDFIs. The dataset spans 20 years, from 1994 through 2013.1 The number of CDFIs reporting varies from year-to-year and ranges from 42 in 1994 to
209 in 2013. The overwhelming majority of respondents are loan funds, but the dataset also includes community development banks, credit unions, and
venture funds. Characteristics of OFN Member CDFIs are discussed in detail in the following section. Throughout this report, the OFN data are cited as the
“OFN Member Dataset.”

   

                                                                                                                                 
1
Data for 1997 are limited. Figures throughout this report exclude 1997 when no data are available.

SECTION III PAGE 1

Characteristics of OFN Member CDFIs
Over the past 20 years, the number of CDFIs included in the OFN Member Dataset quintupled from 42 in 1994 to 209 in 2013. Most of that growth has
been loan funds, which account for 184 of the 209 respondents in 2013. However, in recent years the number of credit unions has also been
increasing—23 of the 25 non-loan fund respondents in 2013 were credit unions. Figure III-1 displays the growing number of OFN survey respondents
between 1994 and 2013 and reflects the universe of CDFIs included in the subsequent analysis.

Figure III-1.
Number of OFN Survey
Respondents by Year, 1994–2013

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

   

SECTION III PAGE 2

OFN Member CDFIs are dispersed throughout the country and serve a wide array of clients. After the Riegle Act of 1994 and the first round of CDFI Fund
awards in 1996, the industry experienced strong growth, particularly in the South and Western regions of the United States.

SECTION III PAGE 3

Community impact. OFN Member CDFIs Figure III-2.
have a significant impact in the Cumulative
communities they serve. Current OFN Community Impact
Since Inception
Members are responsible for more than $35
billion in cumulative financing since their
inception.2 Source:
OFN 2013 Side by Side Report
and BBC Research & Consulting.
This investment has led to the development
and/or rehabilitation of 1.5 million housing
units—more than the total number of
homes in 22 states; the financing of
120,000 businesses and microenterprises;
creation of 721,000 jobs—more than total
jobs in many states; and the financing of
9,500 community services organizations
that have expanded or maintained
childcare, education, and healthcare
services for thousands of individuals.3  

On average, 75 percent of a CDFI’s clients are low-income, 52 percent are people of color, and 48 percent are female.4 While comparable figures are not
available for all conventional bank clients, they are available for conventional and nonconventional lenders’ home mortgage borrowers: in 2013, 28
percent of home purchase loans went to low-income borrowers, and 28 percent went to people of color.5

                                                                                                                                 
2
Cumulative financing includes financing originated and funded by the CDFI, loans purchased, loan guarantees, and loans packaged and/or underwritten for other financial institutions.
3
OFN Members report their impacts using OFN’s standard data definitions. Some CDFIs use different definitions and calculations in their own publications.
4
FY2013 OFN Member Data defines low-income as less than or equal to 80 percent of area median family income (AMI).
5
The 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data, Federal Reserve Bulletin, November 2014. http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2014/pdf/2013_HMDA.pdf.

SECTION III PAGE 4

Size. In addition to growth in terms of number of CDFIs, the OFN Figure III-3.
Membership has also experienced substantial growth in size—as Change in Average Assets, Capital and Loans Outstanding, 1994–2013
measured by assets, capital available for lending and loan portfolio.
As shown in Figure III-3, the average OFN Member CDFI loan Loans   Number  
portfolio increased from $1.9 million in 1994 to $30.3 million in Assets Capital Outstanding of  CDFIs
2013—a 649 percent gain between 1994 and 2000 and then
1994 n/a n/a $1,867,092 42
doubling again between 2000 and 2013. Similar trends are evident
2000 $22,238,306 $18,807,237 $13,985,146 97
for assets and capital available for lending.
2005 $33,714,195 $29,028,470 $22,245,502 118
2010 $50,709,957 $43,175,847 $32,018,236 154
Figures III-4 and III-5, on the following page, display growth in
2013 $50,666,230 $43,575,932 $30,314,881 209
assets, capital, and loans for all OFN respondents. Figure III-4 shows
the simple average for OFN Member CDFIs and Figure III-5 shows %  change  since  1994 1524%
the sum of all OFN Member CDFIs. %  change  since  2000 128% 132% 117%
%  change  since  2005 50% 50% 36%
 
This study focuses on OFN Member balance sheet growth. While Note: Does not include banks.
OFN Member CDFIs are primarily balance sheet lenders that hold Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.
loans they originate or purchase in portfolio, approximately 20
percent of OFN Members expand their impact beyond their own balance sheets through non-balance sheet activities such as guaranteeing loans, selling
loans, packaging and/or underwriting loans for other financial institutions, and/or managing other funds. In FY 2013, 209 OFN Members provided $3.6
billion in loans and investments originated and funded by the CDFI, loans purchased, loan guarantees, and loans packaged and/or underwritten for other
financial institutions. The non-balance sheet activities comprised 20 percent ($719 million) of this financing and were provided by 37 CDFIs. Among the
trend sample of 26 CDFIs, the non-balance sheet activities comprised 24 percent of FY 2013 financing and were provided by just six CDFIs.

OFN Members’ non-balance sheet activities are not analyzed in this study and are a topic for future data collection and research.

SECTION III PAGE 5

Figure III-4. Figure III-5.
Average of Assets, Capital, and Loans Outstanding, 1994–2013 Sum of Assets, Capital, and Loans Outstanding, 1994–2013

 
Note: Does not include banks. n varies across years ranging from 42 in 1994 to 209 in 2013.
Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

SECTION III PAGE 6

Lending sector. OFN Member CDFIs have maintained a diverse lending portfolio throughout the study period, with very little change in sectors over
time. Figure III-6 shows the distribution of loans outstanding (portfolio value) by sector for the average Member CDFI from 2000 through 2013.6 Business
and housing to organizations are the largest lending sectors followed by microenterprise, housing to individuals and community services. OFN began
tracking commercial real estate lending in 2009; prior to that year, those loans may have been categorized as business financing.7 In 2013, 25 percent of
loans for the average OFN Member CDFI were business, 24 percent were housing loans to organizations, 14 percent were microenterprise, 12 percent
were housing loans to individuals, 10 percent were community services, 8 percent were commercial real estate, 4 percent were consumer financing, 1
percent were intermediary and 1 percent were “other” types of loans. For the typical OFN Member CDFI, the distribution of business and housing to
organizations is similar; however, rural CDFIs tend to focus more on business lending than any other sector (See Appendix A for additional details).

Figure III-6.
Distribution of Outstanding
Loan Portfolio by Sector for the
Average OFN Member CDFI,
2000–2013

Note:
Other includes consumer financing,
intermediary, and other types of financing.
Commercial real estate loans were not
tracked until 2009; prior to 2009 those loans
may have been categorized as business
financing.
n ranges from 92 in 2000 to 187 in 2013.
Does not include banks.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research &
Consulting.

                                                                                                                                   

6
Prior to 1999, the OFN Member survey only asked for two sectors, business and housing, hiding the true diversity of CDFIs’ portfolios. Prior to 2000, all housing loans to both organizations and individuals were
reported in a single category.
7
Commercial real estate lending is financing for the construction, rehabilitation, acquisition or expansion of non- residential property used for office, retail, or industrial purposes.

SECTION III PAGE 7

Figure III-7 displays the distribution of the number of outstanding loans by sector for the average OFN Member CDFI. The figure reveals that
microenterprise loans (and to a lesser extent, housing loans to individuals, commercial real estate loans and other loans) account for a higher share of
total loans by number than of total loans by dollar value (Figure III-6). In other words, those loan types—particularly microfinance and housing loans to
individuals—tend to be high volume but low dollar loans.

Figure III-7.
Distribution of the Number of
Loans Outstanding by Sector
for the Average OFN Member
CDFI, 2000–2013

Note:
Other includes consumer financing,
intermediary, and other types of financing.
n ranges from 92 in 2000 to 187 in 2013
Does not include banks.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research &
Consulting.

SECTION III PAGE 8

In 2013, the average loan size for the typical OFN Member CDFI was $206,609, up from $72,936 in 2000 and $20,777 in 1994. Figure III-8 displays the
average loan value by sector in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2013. All loan sectors, except commercial real estate, experienced a substantial increase in
average loan size over time with some sectors more than tripling. The average size for community service loans increased by 280 percent, from
$115,649 to $439,790 between 2000 and 2013. Housing loans to organizations also increased dramatically over the period from $120,660 in 2000 to
$363,465 in 2013, a 201 percent increase. The large increase in the average size of other loans is driven by CDFIs that provided loans to affiliated CDFIs
and CDFIs that provided international loans.

Figure III-8.
Average Loan Value by Sector, 2000,
2005, 2010, and 2013

Note:
Does not include banks.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

SECTION III PAGE 9

Sources of Borrowed Capital
Figure III-9 displays the total borrowed and equity equivalent (EQ2) capital for all loan funds in the dataset between 1994 and 2013.8 The most dramatic
growth for the industry as a whole has been in capital supplied by banks, thrifts, and credit unions ($12.7 million in 1994 to $1.7 billion in 2013).
Foundations and the federal government show gradual but steady increases in funding, particularly in the last seven years. Changes in funding by non-
depository financial institutions are driven almost entirely by a single large OFN Member CDFI. Without this CDFI, non-depository financial institutions
funding would hover around the other sources, ranging from about $10 million to $200 million (see Appendix A).

It should be noted that the CDFI Fund primarily provides equity grants which are not included in this analysis of borrowed and EQ2 capital (data by source
were not available for grant funding). Thus, in 2013, only 17 percent of federal debt was CDFI Fund dollars; the majority was from the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA), US Small Business Administration (SBA), and the US Department of Treasury’s Small Business Lending Fund.

                                                                                                                                 
8
Equity Equivalent (EQ2) is defined as having six attributes: (1) Is carried as an investment on the investor's balance sheet in accordance with GAAP; (2) Is a general obligation of the CDFI that is not secured by
any of the CDFI's assets; (3) Is fully subordinated to the right of repayment of all of the CDFI's other creditors; (4) Does not give the investor the right to accelerate payment unless the CDFI ceases it normal
operations; (5) Carries an interest rate that is not tied to any income received by the CDFI; and (6) Has a rolling term and therefore, an indeterminate maturity.

SECTION III PAGE 10

Figure III-9.
Total Borrowed and EQ2 Funds by Source for Loan Funds, 1994–2013

 
 

SECTION III PAGE 11

Figure III-10 shows sources of funding for the average loan fund in the OFN dataset. This figure differs from the previous figure in two ways: 1) It shows
funding sources as a proportion of total borrowed and EQ2 funding—i.e., as a percent instead of a dollar amount; and 2) It displays the average
distribution, as opposed to a combined total. The average shown is a simple average in which each CDFI is given equal weight, regardless of size.

The most notable changes are the decline in the share of a loan fund’s capital provided by individuals and religious institutions and the rise in the
proportion of funding provided by banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Some contributing factors to the rise in bank funding include CDFI Fund equity awards
that leveraged bank debt (starting between 2006 and 2008), the Bank Enterprise Award program, 1995 changes in CRA regulations that specifically
mention CDFIs (increasing awareness among banks about CDFIs), and an increase in the number of community and regional banks investing in CDFIs.

The decline in the proportion of funding provided by religious institutions over time may reflect the limited capacity of those sources relative to other
sources. Even so, as noted above, religious institutions were one of the primary sources of borrowed funds for CDFIs in the 1970s and 1980s and the total
dollar amount provided by religious institutions did increase over time, just not at the same pace as other sources.

Like religious institutions, individuals’ debt funding increased in total but decreased sharply as a percent of the average CDFI’s total debt. While the
number of CDFIs with debt from individuals fell from 81 percent in 1994 to 28 percent in 2013, there is much discussion in the industry about the
potential to raise significantly more capital from socially responsible individuals in the future.

Member CDFIs lending primarily to rural beneficiaries tend to rely more heavily on federal sources of funding than do urban Member CDFIs. This is
primarily a function of the relatively small number of banks with branches and CRA footprints in rural communities, as well as the large USDA lending
programs such as the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP).9

Member CDFIs led by people of color typically receive a lower proportion of their funding from banks, thrifts, and credit unions than do other Member
CDFIs, independent of their status as rural/urban CDFIs.10 Figure III-11 displays the average distribution of borrowed funds for CDFIs led by people of
color, urban CDFIs, and rural CDFIs.

                                                                                                                                 
9
USDA’s Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) provides one percent loans to local intermediaries, such as CDFIs, that re-lend to businesses and for community development projects in rural communities.
10
Member CDFIs led by people of color are equally likely as other Member CDFIs to have predominantly urban clients—across the twenty-year period, about two-thirds of Member CDFIs have predominantly
urban clients.

SECTION III PAGE 12

Figure III-10.
Average Distribution of Sources of Borrowed Funds for Loan Funds, 1994–2013

 
Note: Includes borrowed and EQ2 funds; NDFIs are Non-depository financial institutions; n ranges from 42 in 1994 to 184 in 2013. Includes loan funds only.
Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

SECTION III PAGE 13

  

Financial and Portfolio Performance

This section reports financial and portfolio performance trends for OFN Member CDFIs over the study period and, when possible, compares those trends
to the conventional banking sector. Overall, OFN Member CDFIs have exhibited strong and stable metrics over the study period, especially considering
their role in filling market gaps lending to underserved and often higher-risk beneficiaries. Figure III-12 depicts the net charge-off rate, delinquency rate
(90+ days), and operating margin for OFN Member CDFIs and FDIC institutions. Figure III-13, on the following page, provides simple and weighted
averages of these and additional performance metrics for OFN Members. Definitions are provided in Appendix B.

Net charge-offs. The net charge-off rate spiked following both recessions of the past 20 years but has declined dramatically since 2010, falling below
1 percent (weighted average) in 2013. FDIC institutions have a similar charge-off rate on average as OFN Members overall.

Delinquency rate. Similar to net charge-offs, delinquency rates rose in the wake of the nation’s recent recessions (this was also true for FDIC
institutions). In 2013 the average OFN Member’s 90-day delinquency rate was 3 percent and the weighted average (OFN Members overall) was 2
percent—on par with FDIC institutions.

Operating margin. OFN Members had slightly lower operating margins than FDIC institutions until the housing market downturn, when bank profits
from core operations declined significantly. OFN Members were generally able to maintain profitability from operations even during the recession and, in
the current recovery period, are tracking closely with FDIC institutions.11, 12

                                                                                                                                 
11
For-profits have a standard financial performance metric, return on assets (ROA). OFN hasn’t used ROA in the past because of nonprofit CDFIs’ reliance on operating grants, which are not generally considered
to be returns or earnings on assets. We think it is an interesting question whether or not to use ROA for CDFIs. During his visit and comments at the 2008 OFN Conference, Jim Collins, author of Good to Great,
urged OFN to include ROA analyses as a point of further discussion. OFN Member data show that, excluding the peak in 2000 and 2001, OFN Member return on assets (unrestricted net income over assets) has
hovered around 2 percent, with slight increases in the recent post-recession recovery. FDIC institutions averaged 0.96 percent ROA over the same period. See Figure A-4 in Appendix A.
12
It should be noted that operating margins jumped up in several early years, notably 1998, 2000, and 2001. These jumps may have been due to the injection of CDFI Fund awards, a ramping up period for the
many CDFIs formed in the years immediately following the creation of the CDFI Fund, or other causes; additional research is needed to fully understand these data.

SECTION III PAGE 15

  

Figure III-12.
Net Charge-Off Rate, Delinquency
Rate, and Operating Margin, 1994-
2013

Note:
OFN data does not include CDFI banks. The
comparison of OFN Member CDFIs to FDIC
institutions is imperfect given the wide variety of
institution types regulated by the FDIC. FDIC Inst.
Overall reflects the weighted average of all FDIC
institutions; OFN Member Average reflects simple
average of OFN Member CDFIs; and OFN Members
Overall reflects weighted average of OFN Member
CDFIs.

Source:
FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile, OFN Member
Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

SECTION III PAGE 16

  

Figure III-13. Number  of   Delinqency   Loan  Loss   Net   Self   Weighted   Weighted  Average  
Financial and Portfolio CDFIs   Rate  90+   Net  Charge-­‐ Reserve  as  a   Assets   Sufficiency   Deployment   Operating   Average   Cost  of  Borrowed  
Performance, 1994–2013 Reporting Days Off  Rate %  of  Loans Ratio Ratio Ratio Margin Interest  Rate Funds

Simple  Averages
1994 42 1.9% 2.2% -­‐17% 7% 2%
Note:
1995 44 2.4% 2.7% -­‐2% 8% 2%
Does not include CDFI banks. 1996 46 2.1% 2.4% -­‐7% 8% 2%
Blanks indicate data were not 1998 48 4.7% 1.0% 7.4% 78% 55% 7% 7% 2%
available. 1999 108 3.9% 2.2% 7.7% 46% 69% 53% 9% 8% 2%
2000 86 4.1% 2.8% 9.3% 43% 68% 58% 26% 8% 3%
Source: 2001 90 4.1% 1.5% 9.8% 43% 64% 61% 5% 7% 3%
2002 110 4.2% 2.3% 10.5% 44% 56% 64% -­‐2% 7% 3%
OFN Member Dataset and BBC
Research & Consulting. 2003 117 5.1% 2.2% 11.1% 43% 71% 66% 5% 7% 3%
2004 109 4.1% 1.8% 9.0% 40% 67% 67% 5% 7% 3%
2005 105 3.5% 1.9% 8.3% 42% 70% 71% 9% 7% 3%
2006 102 3.8% 1.3% 9.2% 41% 75% 12%
2007 114 3.8% 1.9% 9.0% 41% 71% 73% 8% 7% 4%
2008 124 4.4% 2.3% 8.8% 38% 68% 72% 3% 6% 2%
2009 139 5.6% 2.9% 8.7% 41% 63% 73% -­‐3% 7% 3%
2010 154 4.3% 3.5% 8.1% 44% 63% 71% 13% 6% 2%
2011 194 4.1% 2.1% 8.2% 45% 58% 69% -­‐11% 6% 2%
2012 197 2.8% 1.8% 8.3% 45% 63% 69% 18% 6% 2%
2013 168 3.2% 1.1% 8.1% 47% 62% 71% 14% 6% 2%

Weighted  Averages
1994 42 0.8% 1.9% 34%
1995 44 0.9% 2.0% 26%
1996 46 1.0% 1.8% 15%
1998 48 2.8% 0.5% 4.6% 86% 64% 21%
1999 108 1.5% 0.6% 3.5% 39% 76% 73% 16%
2000 86 1.6% 0.4% 3.6% 35% 73% 74% 36%
2001 90 3.6% 0.5% 4.9% 40% 73% 73% 39%
2002 110 3.5% 0.8% 5.0% 32% 61% 78% 5%
2003 117 3.5% 1.1% 5.9% 36% 68% 77% 12%
2004 109 3.0% 0.8% 4.5% 35% 79% 77% 15%
2005 105 2.3% 0.6% 4.9% 33% 77% 79% 15%
2006 102 2.8% 0.6% 5.1% 33% 0% 79% 22%
2007 114 3.3% 0.8% 5.3% 34% 76% 78% 15%
2008 124 3.8% 1.1% 5.1% 31% 72% 76% 13%
2009 139 5.8% 1.6% 5.9% 32% 71% 74% 9%
2010 154 3.4% 2.1% 4.5% 32% 65% 76% 11%
2011 194 2.5% 1.7% 5.0% 35% 62% 72% 14%
2012 197 2.2% 1.0% 5.3% 35% 61% 71% 15%
2013 168 2.1% 0.7% 5.6% 44% 57% 74% 16%
 

SECTION III PAGE 17

  

Geographic Focus
One third of OFN Member CDFIs have a broad geographic scope, serving multi-state or national markets. Another 31 percent of Member CDFIs serve
metro areas or multiple counties.

The market area distribution in 2013 reflects an increase in the proportion of Member CDFIs serving multiple states relative to 2001. Although many long-
time Members have expanded their geographic markets, most of the increase is related to new Member CDFIs who serve large markets rather than those
long-time Members.

In both 2001 and 2013, most Member CDFIs’ primary beneficiaries were living in urban areas (64% in 2001 and 74% in 2013). Again, the increase is
primarily related to new CDFIs focusing on urban beneficiaries as opposed to existing CDFIs shifting their focus.

Figure III-14.
Proportion of CDFIs by Market Area and Location of
Primary Clients, 2001 and 2013
Note:
For Geographic Focus n=107 in 2001 and 184 in 2013; for Primary
Beneficiaries n=105 in 2001 and 202 in 2013.
Does not include banks.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.  

SECTION III PAGE 18

  

Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Diversity

Figure III-15 displays people of color and female representation on Member CDFIs’ staff and boards. Between 1994 and 2013, female board
representation for the average OFN Member CDFI dropped as did the proportion of OFN Member CDFIs with a female majority board. The board
representation of people of color for the average OFN Member CDFI also dropped slightly, but the proportion of OFN Member CDFIs with a board that was
majority people of color actually increased (from 12% to 17%).

Figure III-15.
Staff and Board Composition, 1994 and 2013

 
Note: n=42 in 2001 and 186 in 2013. Does not include banks.
Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

Figure III-16 compares the racial and ethnic diversity of CDFI Figure III-16. Percent  of  OFN  Member  CDFIs
Percent of OFN Member
staff and board to the diversity of the communities the CDFI CDFIs Meeting Diversity Meeting  Staff   Meeting  Board  
serves. The figure shows the percentage of CDFIs that are at Benchmark Diversity  Benchmark Diversity  Benchmark
least 50 percent as diverse as their clients.13 For example, if 50 2001 42% 52%
percent of a CDFI’s clients are racially or ethnically diverse and 2003 51% 47%
Note:
25 percent of that CDFI’s staff is racially or ethnically diverse, 2005 56% 56%
Does not include banks.
then that CDFI meets the benchmark. If 10 percent of a CDFI’s 2007 54% 62%
clients are diverse, only 5 percent of that CDFI’s staff needs to be 2009 58% 65%
Source:
diverse to meet the benchmark. 2011 51% 56%
OFN Member Dataset and BBC
Research & Consulting. 2013 66% 50%

                                                                                                                                 
13
OFN is committed to racial and ethnic equity. Reflecting this commitment, OFN’s Member Performance Expectations include two that are focused on staff and board diversity relative to the diversity of the
communities the CDFI serves. For a complete list of OFN Member Performance Expectations go to www.ofn.org/membership.

SECTION III PAGE 19

  

As Figure III-16 shows, just two-thirds of Member CDFIs meet the staff benchmark and only half meet the board benchmark. Results fluctuate from year
to year and lack a strong trend, and there are no years in which more than two-thirds of Member CDFIs meet either diversity benchmark.

CDFIs Led by People of Color. In 2013, Figure III-17.

34 OFN Member CDFIs were led by people of OFN Members Led by People of Color, 1994–2013
color.14 CDFIs led by people of color are equally
likely as other CDFIs to be urban CDFIs. They are Number  of   Percent   Average
CDFI  Leadership CDFIs of  CDFIs Assets Loans  Outstanding Capital
more likely to meet staff and board diversity
targets. 1994
CDFIs  led  by  people  of  color 4 10% $1,172,357
As shown in Figure III-17, CDFIs led by people of White-­‐led  CDFIs 38 90% $1,940,222
color had lower average Assets, Loans 2004
Outstanding, and Capital Available for lending than CDFIs  led  by  people  of  color 13 9% $13,612,169 $7,914,786 $11,744,593
White-­‐led  CDFIs 127 91% $27,309,320 $16,771,313 $23,764,116
White-led Member CDFIs.15 A determination of the
2013
reasons for such differences was beyond the
CDFIs  led  by  people  of  color 34 16% $30,241,928 $20,205,816 $27,492,072
scope of this study. White-­‐led  CDFIs 175 84% $54,634,380 $32,278,928 $46,700,797

Note: Does not include banks.

In terms of capitalization, CDFIs led by people of
Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.
color typically receive a lower proportion of their
funding from banks, thrifts, and credit unions than do White-led Member CDFIs, regardless of whether their primary clients are urban or rural (see Figure
III-11 on page 14 of this section).

Figure III-18 displays the distribution of outstanding dollars loaned by sector for CDFIs led by people of color. Compared to other CDFIs, CDFIs led by
people of color tend to focus more on business lending and have a smaller focus on housing to organizations and community services.

                                                                                                                                 
14
Led by refers to the Executive Director, President, or CEO.
15
“White-led” refers to White, non-Hispanic Executive Director, President, or CEO.

SECTION III PAGE 20

  

Figure III-18.
Distribution of Outstanding
Loan Portfolio by Sector for
Member CDFIs Led by People
of Color, 2000–2013

Note:
Other includes consumer financing,
intermediary and other types of financing.
Commercial real estate loans were not
tracked until 2009; prior to 2009 those loans
may have been categorized as business
financing.
N ranges from 7 in 2000 to 30 in 2013.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research &
Consulting.

SECTION III PAGE 21

SECTION IV.
Characteristics of High Growth OFN Member CDFIs—Longitudinal Analysis of
Long-Time Members
SECTION IV.
Characteristics of High Growth OFN Member CDFIs—Longitudinal
Analysis of Long-Time Members
The OFN Member Dataset includes 26 CDFIs—all loan funds—that consistently reported data between 1994 and 2013. 1 This section focuses on that
subsample of Member CDFIs to evaluate the characteristics of high growth, moderate growth, and low growth Members over the past 20 years.

It is important to note that the subsample is not perfectly representative of the current OFN Membership. Since the sample is defined as CDFIs that have
been OFN Members for 20 years, there are some inherent differences between the subsample and other Member institutions. For example, subsample
loan funds are older than non-subsample loan funds with an average age of 30, compared to 22 for non-subsample loan funds. Subsample loan funds
also have a higher proportion of rural clients (34%) than do other Member loan funds overall (26%). As shown in Figure IV-1, subsample loan funds are
also larger, on average, than non-subsample loan funds.

Figure IV-1. Median Assets Median Loans Outstanding

Subsample Compared to Other Member Loan Funds Subsample Non-Subsample Subsample Non-Subsample

1994 n/a n/a $1,802,065 $314,522

Source: 2004 $26,318,750 $6,590,884 $13,198,293 $3,043,820
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting. 2013 $49,784,172 $13,780,930 $27,879,811 $7,192,751

This section describes the differences in growth trends among the subsample institutions. Although not representative of the entire universe of CDFIs, the
analysis provides important insight into the characteristics of Member CDFIs that have exhibited strong and consistent growth and the factors influencing
growth (economic and industry changes) during the past two decades. 2

1
Specifically, these 26 loan funds reported data in at least 18 of the 20 possible years and were OFN Members in 2013.
2
This section focuses on correlative characteristics of growth but does not identify conclusive determinants of growth, nor does it use regression analysis techniques due to the limited size of the dataset.

SECTION IV PAGE 1
Measures of Growth
Each CDFI in the subsample was classified as high, moderate or low growth based on change in outstanding loan portfolio over the study period. In order
to smooth out single-year anomalies, the percent change in portfolio was calculated from a three-year average near the beginning of the study period and
a three-year average at the end of the study period. CDFIs that exhibited exceptionally high growth—compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over 18
percent—were classified as “high growth.” CDFIs with a CAGR between 13 percent and 18 percent were classified as “moderate growth” and all others
were classified as “low growth.” Based on those natural breaks in the data, seven CDFIs were classified as high growth, 12 were classified as moderate
growth and seven were classified as low growth.

There was one large CDFI in the high growth cohort that exhibited a substantially different growth pattern than the other high growth CDFIs. As such, for
some analyses, this institution was excluded from the dataset. Two sets of data are presented for the high growth cohort—one that includes all seven
high growth CDFIs (High Growth) and one that excludes that large CDFI (High Growth Alt).

Figure IV-2 displays the three-year beginning and ending loans outstanding averages along with average CAGR for various intervals across the study
period. Medians for each growth cohort are also included for reference.

Figure IV-2.
Growth Summary for Subsample, 1994-2013 (Loans Outstanding)

Summary: 1994 through 2013 CAGR by Time Period

Beginning 3 Yr Ending 3 Yr Overall 2000- 2001 2007-2009
n= Average Average CAGR 1994-1997 1997-2000 (Recession) 2001-2007 (Recession) 2009-2013

Average
Entire Subsample 26 $3,932,982 $59,586,455 15% 38% 30% 24% 15% 11% 6%
High Growth CDFIs 7 $4,081,930 $139,690,585 23% 78% 36% 23% 23% 16% 7%
High Growth Alt CDFIs 6 $3,317,718 $84,850,127 23% 64% 27% 29% 26% 20% 11%
Moderate Growth CDFIs 12 $2,777,380 $34,797,555 15% 20% 35% 17% 17% 9% 8%
Low Growth CDFIs 7 $5,765,066 $21,977,584 8% 28% 14% 38% 5% 11% 2%
Median
Entire Subsample 26 $2,834,146 $23,515,774 16% 26% 31% 19% 14% 9% 7%
High Growth CDFIs 7 $3,817,648 $93,515,387 20% 67% 24% 26% 23% 14% 9%
High Growth Alt CDFIs 6 $2,371,503 $58,422,713 20% 49% 22% 30% 23% 18% 10%
Moderate Growth CDFIs 12 $1,454,291 $22,342,455 16% 25% 33% 18% 16% 6% 8%
Low Growth CDFIs 7 $4,528,914 $23,558,474 8% 22% 7% 26% 8% 7% 4%

Notes: "Beginning 3 Yr Average" is the average of the first three years of data for each CDFI. For most CDFIs this means 1994, 1995 and 1996; for two CDFIs it is 1995, 1996 and 1998; and for two other
CDFIs it is 1996, 1998 and 1999. "Ending 3 Yr Average" is the average of the last three years of data for each CDFI. For 25 of the 26 CDFIs this measure is an average of 2011, 2012 and 2013; for
one CDFI this is 2010, 2011 and 2013. "Overall CAGR" is the compound annual growth rate calculated from the beginning three-year average to the ending three-year average. The "High Growth Alt"
cohort excludes one large CDFI that exhibits a substantially different growth pattern than the other high growth CDFIs.
Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

SECTION IV PAGE 2
As shown in Figure IV-2, growth for the entire subsample was strongest from 1994–1997. This seems to reflect the creation of and early round awards
from the CDFI Fund; in addition to CDFI Fund awards, many foundations and banks saw the creation of the CDFI Fund as an opportunity to increase their
investments in CDFIs they considered strong. Although growth slowed somewhat in the years following the 2001 recession, subsample CDFIs were able
to maintain an exceptional double-digit CAGR through the Great Recession (2007–2009).

High Growth CDFIs had substantially stronger growth than other cohorts in most years, particularly during the first half of the 20-year period. The very
large CDFI included in the High Growth cohort added stability to the group overall in pre-2000 years, but dampened growth somewhat after 2000. The
High Growth Alt CDFIs also had higher growth than moderate and low growth CDFIs in each interval examined—except immediately prior to and during
the 2001 recession.

The Low Growth cohort had the lowest CAGR throughout the last two decades, again, except during recession periods. The Moderate Growth cohort had
the lowest growth during recessionary periods but otherwise maintained steady growth over the 20-year period.

In contrast to the 2000–2001 recessionary period, growth for all cohorts slowed following the recent recession (2008–2009), though the High Growth Alt
CDFIs fared better than Moderate and Low Growth CDFIs.

Figure IV-3 displays size characteristics for each cohort in 1994, 2004 and 2013. The mean and median data show relatively small differences in both
capital and lending between the growth cohorts in 1994 but substantial differences as their growth trajectories diverge. The min and max columns reveal
meaningful size variation within each growth cohort. As such, the initial size of a CDFI does not appear to be a primary determinant of growth.

Figure IV-3. Loans Outstanding ($ Million) Capital Available for Lending ($ Million)
Median Size by Growth n= Median Mean Min Max Median Mean Min Max
Classification
Entire Subsample
1994 22 $1.80 $2.85 $0.14 $10.09 $3.92 $6.23 $0.55 $25.66
Source: 2004 25 $13.20 $46.56 $1.95 $692.33 $20.83 $54.82 $1.44 $751.62
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & 2013 26 $27.88 $60.71 $1.34 $411.95 $42.20 $83.27 $4.07 $654.32
Consulting.
High Growth CDFIs
1994 6 $4.11 $3.51 $0.14 $7.03 $7.65 $8.48 $0.55 $20.87
2004 7 $32.25 $122.82 $2.40 $692.33 $41.00 $139.12 $4.06 $751.62
2013 7 $102.71 $138.87 $22.07 $411.95 $107.94 $193.04 $25.63 $654.32
Mod Growth CDFIs
1994 11 $1.38 $2.49 $0.17 $10.09 $2.94 $5.58 $0.82 $25.66
2004 12 $10.33 $16.67 $1.95 $53.43 $14.87 $24.86 $2.84 $92.17
2013 12 $24.89 $37.57 $3.71 $138.68 $34.52 $47.87 $6.12 $169.12
Low Growth CDFIs
1994 5 $1.98 $2.88 $0.37 $7.43 $5.22 $4.96 $0.63 $9.81
2004 6 $16.61 $17.39 $3.30 $34.88 $20.71 $21.90 $1.44 $43.12
2013 7 $27.72 $22.21 $1.34 $40.28 $40.95 $34.20 $4.07 $60.34

SECTION IV PAGE 3
Characteristics of Growth
The remainder of this section describes the differences among growth cohorts in terms of market area, typical clients, lending sector, sources of
borrowed funds and financial performance. The purpose of this section is not to provide a formula for growth; further quantitative and qualitative
research is needed to fully understand the drivers of these CDFIs’ growth rates.

Market and clients. Figure IV-4 displays the Figure IV-4.

average distribution of urban and rural clients for Average Percent Urban and Rural Clients, 2001 and 2013
each growth cohort. Low Growth CDFIs were more
likely to serve predominantly rural clients in both
2001 and 2013. On average High Growth CDFIs had
the highest proportion of urban clients (85%) in 2001
and increased that further (to 98%) in 2013. In
contrast, Moderate Growth CDFIs increased their
proportion of rural clients from 31 percent to 38
percent between 2001 and 2013.

There were no CDFIs in the High Growth cohort

serving a majority rural client base. Five of the 12
Low Growth CDFIs (57%) and four of seven Moderate
Growth CDFIs (42%) had a majority rural client base
in 2013.
Note: Does not include banks.
Over the course of the study period, High Growth
Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.
CDFIs had a higher proportion of clients of color
(55% of High Growth clients, 43% of Moderate Growth clients and 46% of Low Growth clients). However, Moderate and Low Growth CDFIs had higher
average proportions of female clients (50% and 49% respectively) compared to High Growth CDFIs (43%) and higher proportions of low income clients
(74% and 77% respectively) compared to High Growth CDFIs (69%).

SECTION IV PAGE 4
There were no CDFIs in the subsample that Figure IV-5.
consistently served small markets, such as Number of CDFIs by Market Area, 2001 and 2013
individual neighborhoods, counties or cities. As
shown in Figure IV-5, the market area distribution
of Low Growth CDFIs and High Growth CDFIs were
very similar in both 2001 and 2013. In both cohorts,
slightly fewer than half of Member CDFIs served
metro areas or multiple counties and just over half
served multiple states or national markets in 2013.
Half of Moderate Growth CDFIs also served multiple
states or national markets with the other half split
between metro areas or multiple counties and
single states. Each cohort saw a slight market area
expansion between 2001 and 2013.

Lending sector. Figure IV-6 reveals distinct

differences in the average distribution of loan
Note: Does not include banks.
sectors among the growth cohorts. Housing loans
Source: OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.
to organizations, and to a lesser extent business
loans, are much more dominant among Low Growth CDFIs than among Moderate or High Growth CDFIs. High Growth CDFIs have a more diverse portfolio
in which no individual loan type accounts for more than 50 percent of all loans. Both High Growth CDFIs and Moderate Growth CDFIs allocate a
substantially higher proportion of loans to community services organizations relative to Low Growth CDFIs. High Growth CDFIs are more likely to make
commercial real estate loans (category added in 2009) than other cohorts. See Figure IV-9.

While the figure does show some fluctuation in lending sectors across time for each growth cohort, there do not appear to be substantial changes in
lending sector distribution within each cohort. As such, it is difficult to speculate how changing the loan sector distribution might impact growth for an
individual CDFI.

Loan sectors can be uniquely tied to individual CDFI missions and/or a factor of the needs and opportunities within specific market areas. For example,
Low Growth CDFIs tend to have a higher proportion of rural clients and may be located in areas where there are acute needs for housing and business
loans. Access to capital, sources of capital (e.g., banks versus religious institutions), and terms of capital could also influence sectors served. External
factors impacting loan sector distribution may also be impacting overall growth potential.

SECTION IV PAGE 5
Figure IV-6.
Loan Sector—
Simple Average of
Distribution

Note:
Other includes consumer
financing, intermediary and
other types of financing.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and
BBC Research & Consulting.

SECTION IV PAGE 6
Sources of borrowed funds. Growth cohorts also differ in the composition of borrowed funds. Figure IV-7 displays the average distribution of
sources of borrowed and EQ2 funds for each cohort. 3

The most striking differences are in funds borrowed from banks, thrifts, and credit unions. High Growth CDFIs have a strong trend of increasing the
proportion of dollars borrowed from banks (7% in 1994 to 51% in 2013) whereas Low Growth CDFIs only increased their share of bank-borrowed funds
from 10 percent to 17 percent.

High Growth CDFIs had the smallest proportion of funds from the federal government, even in the very early years. In 1994–1996, they had by far the
highest proportion of funds from foundations.

As bank financing increased for High Growth (and to a lesser extent Moderate Growth) CDFIs, the proportion of borrowed funds from individuals and
religious organizations declined steadily. It should be noted that the dollar amounts provided by individuals and religious institutions did increase over
time, just not at the same pace as other sources.

Trends for Low Growth CDFIs were less consistent, which may suggest some level of volatility in terms of borrowed funds among them.

3
It should be noted that this analysis does not include funds received through grants or other non-borrowed sources, including the CDFI Fund. Data were not available to examine grant sources of funding.

SECTION IV PAGE 7
Figure IV-7.
Average Distribution of
Sources of Borrowed
Funds

Note:
Includes borrowed and EQ2 funds.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC
Research & Consulting.

SECTION IV PAGE 8
Cost of borrowed funds. Figure IV-8 displays the average cost of borrowed funds and the average interest rate for each growth cohort along with the
margin between the two rates. Over the study period, High Growth CDFIs averaged a slightly higher cost of borrowed funds (2.9%) than Moderate (2.5%)
and Low Growth CDFIs (2.3%). High and Moderate Growth CDFIs had similar average interest rates (7.0% and 7.1%) over the 20-year period—both
higher than Low Growth CDFIs, which averaged 5.7 percent. Over the past five years, Moderate Growth CDFIs maintained the most favorable margin
(4.1%), followed by High Growth (3.4%) and Low Growth (3.1%) CDFIs.

Financial performance. Comparisons of financial performance trends of CDFIs by growth cohort show only modest differences in performance
(Figure IV-9 on the following page), mostly in earlier years. Where variances occur, these are mostly related to poor-performing loans in the early to mid-
2000s.

The net charge off rate is very similar across the time period examined. Deployment levels are consistent, suggesting that the growth of the CDFIs has
reacted to market demand rather than opportunistic expansions. LLR as a percent of loans outstanding and unrestricted operating margin fluctuated over
the period but do not reveal substantial differences between cohorts.

Delinquency Rates were somewhat higher for Low Growth CDFIs in the first half of the study period but converged with High and Moderate Growth CDFIs
in the latter half of the period. The Net Assets ratio was somewhat higher across the study period for Low Growth CDFIs (47% on average) than for
Moderate and High Growth CDFIs (both averaging 35%), indicating that Low Growth are under-leveraged relative to the other cohorts. Whether this under-
leveraging is caused by an inability to access needed debt capital, a preference for grants over debt to meet capital needs, or no need for additional
capital is an area for future study.

SECTION IV PAGE 9
Figure IV-8.
Average Cost of Borrowed Funds and Interest
Rate

Note:
Data reflects the simple average within each cohort of the weighted
average cost and interest rate. 2006 data are not available.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

SECTION IV PAGE 10
Figure IV-9.
Financial Performance, Simple Average by Cohort, 1994-2013

SECTION IV PAGE 11
SECTION V.
Key Findings and Opportunities for Future Research
SECTION V.
Key Findings and Opportunities for Future Research
This section summarizes the key findings from the trend analysis and longitudinal growth analysis. It also highlights opportunities for further research in
the CDFI industry.

Key Findings from the Trend Analysis (Section III)

¾ The average OFN Member CDFI loan portfolio increased from $1.9 million in 1994 to $30.3 million in 2013, with a 649 percent gain between 1994
and 2000 and a 100 percent gain between 2000 and 2013.

¾ The loan funds of the 1980s financed a wide range of sectors, including community-based and community-controlled projects, worker-owned and
worker-managed businesses or cooperatives, community land trusts, and other nonprofits. They sought to address affordable housing, jobs,
education, healthcare, and energy conservation. Today, CDFIs finance these sectors and others, including those they helped create, such as healthy
food financing, charter school financing, and federally qualified health center financing.

¾ OFN Member CDFIs have a significant impact in the communities they serve. Current OFN Members are responsible for over $35 billion in
cumulative financing since their inception. This investment has led to the development and/or rehabilitation of 1.5 million housing units—more than
the total number of homes in 22 states; the financing of 120,000 businesses and microenterprises; creation of 721,000 jobs—more than total jobs
in many states; and the financing of 9,500 community services organizations that have expanded or maintained childcare, education, and healthcare
services for thousands of individuals.1

¾ On average, 75 percent of a CDFI’s clients are low-income, 52 percent are people of color, and 48 percent are female.2 While comparable figures
are not available for all conventional bank clients, they are available for conventional and nonconventional lenders’ home mortgage borrowers: in
2013, 28 percent of home purchase loans went to low-income borrowers, and 28 percent went to people of color.3

                                                                                                                                 
1
OFN Members report their impacts using OFN’s standard data definitions. Some CDFIs use different definitions and calculations in their own publications.
2
FY2013 OFN Member Data defines low-income as less than or equal to 80 percent of area median family income (AMI).
3
The 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data, Federal Reserve Bulletin, November 2014. http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2014/pdf/2013_HMDA.pdf.

SECTION V PAGE 1
¾ OFN Member CDFIs have been focused on performance and community impact for more than 30 years. In 1985, the net charge-off rate of the CDFIs
at the first National Conference for Community Loan Funds was 0.7 percent. OFN Members’ net charge-off rate has tracked closely with that of FDIC
insured institutions, and was 0.7 percent in 2013.

¾ OFN Member CDFIs have maintained their ability to provide capital in underserved communities even during recessionary periods. In the wake of the
Great Recession of 2008, conventional banks experienced one of the largest lending contractions in the post-war era—outstanding loans declined
by as much as 16 percent between late 2008 and early 2012, according to some estimates.4 In contrast, loans outstanding for the average OFN
Member CDFI actually increased slightly during this period (from $28.2 to $28.6 million)

¾ When loan funds were first being established in the 1970s and 1980s, they borrowed primarily from individuals and religious institutions, early
adopters who supported their community-focused missions. By 1994, these two sources still accounted for more than 50 percent of the average
CDFIs’ borrowed funds; in 2013, they accounted for only 6 percent, while conventional banks, thrifts, and credit unions accounted for nearly 40
percent.

¾ OFN Member CDFIs in rural areas and CDFIs led by people of color receive less funding from conventional banks. Government (federal, state, and
local) and foundations are larger sources of borrowed funds for these institutions.

¾ Rural CDFIs may be more reliant on government-provided sources of loan capital due to less access to bank capital. Rural banks are smaller,
community-lending focused and, as such, may not need to invest in CDFIs to meet their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements. It is
unclear if these CDFIs would have grown more rapidly if they had more access to capital—or if their growth was largely a factor of lack of demand
in the markets they serve.

Key Findings from the Growth Analysis (Section IV)

The longitudinal analysis provided in Section IV reveals some key differences but also key similarities between High, Moderate, and Low Growth CDFIs. As
discussed previously, the differences are not intended to suggest a blueprint for growth but instead highlight certain characteristics that vary along with
growth among long-time OFN Member CDFIs.

¾ CDFIs had healthy growth rates throughout the entire twenty-year study period. From 1994 through 2013, CDFIs’ loans outstanding grew on average
by 15 percent per year (compound annual growth rate). Growth was highest in the early years of this study at 38 percent on average from 1994-

                                                                                                                                 
4  http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h8/  

SECTION V PAGE 2
 1997, gradually slowing but maintaining an 11 percent growth rate during the Great Recession (2007-2009), and a 6 percent growth rate toward the
end of the study period (2009-2013).

¾ The type of market area served by CDFIs is strongly correlated with growth: High Growth CDFIs are much more likely to serve urban clients, while
Low Growth CDFIs predominately serve rural clients. However, geographic size of market area does not appear to have a substantial correlation to
growth—High and Low Growth CDFIs are equally likely to serve multi-state or national markets.

¾ Over the course of the study period, High Growth CDFIs had a higher proportion of clients of color but Moderate and Low Growth CDFIs had higher
average proportions of female and low-income clients.

¾ There are distinct differences in the average distribution of loan sectors between the growth cohorts. Housing loans are much more dominant
among Low Growth CDFIs than Moderate or High Growth CDFIs. High Growth CDFIs have a more balanced portfolio in which no individual loan type
accounts for more than 50 percent of all loans after the year 2000. Both High Growth CDFIs and Moderate Growth CDFIs allocate a substantially
higher proportion of loans to community services organizations relative to Low Growth CDFIs.

¾ There are distinct differences in the average distribution of sources of borrowed capital between the growth cohorts. High Growth CDFIs, and to a
lesser extent Moderate Growth CDFIs, substantially increased the proportion of dollars borrowed from banks, thrifts, and credit unions, with High
Growth CDFIs sourcing more than half their debt from conventional banks in 2013, whereas Low Growth CDFIs showed only small increases in their
share of bank-borrowed funds.

¾ Comparisons of financial performance trends of CDFIs by growth cohort show only modest differences in performance

Opportunities for Future Research

There still remain a number of complex questions that cannot be fully answered by the available data, or perhaps require a more qualitative approach to
unpack.

The longitudinal analysis raises many complex questions that can only be answered through further analysis of the OFN Member data, analysis of
additional datasets such as CDFI Program awards and NMTC allocations, and qualitative research including interviews and focus groups with CDFIs and
other stakeholders.

Future research questions include:

¾ How do the 1994–2013 growth and performance of CDFI loan funds compare to CDFI banks and CDFI credit unions?

SECTION V PAGE 3
¾ What accounted for the very high average growth rates for some CDFIs in 1994–1997 (68% average compound annual growth rate) and why are
growth rates slowing overall?

¾ How do growth rates and performance differ among CDFI segments (e.g., rural vs urban; big vs small; primary financing sector; CDFIs led by people
of color vs White-led CDFIs)?

¾ What explains the differences in growth and performance among CDFI segments? Do sources of capital with their particular terms and conditions
impact growth and performance? What are the impacts of other factors including but not limited to capital constraints, financing sectors served,
markets served (rural vs. urban), the CDFI’s risk tolerance, and management decisions?

¾ What is the composition and volume OFN Members’ non-balance sheet activity and how has it changed over time? How has non-balance sheet
activity allowed some CDFIs to grow in ways that would not have been possible with only on-balance sheet lending? What are the trend sample’s
growth rates in annual financing activity, including balance sheet and non-balance sheet activity?

¾ What explains the variations in financial performance across years (e.g., why did operating margins jump up in 1998, 2000, and 2001 historical
performance; why did the cost of borrowed funds jump up in 2007)?

¾ What was the impact of the Riegle Act of 1994 on CDFIs’ financial performance (operating margin, self-sufficiency ratio, net asset ratio), portfolio
performance (delinquency and loan losses), and growth rates? For example, is there a difference between CDFIs that were established prior to the
Riegle Act of 1994 and those that were established after it? What is the impact of CDFI Program awards and/or New Markets Tax Credit allocations?

SECTION V PAGE 4
APPENDIX A.
Additional Figures and Analyses
APPENDIX A.
Additional Figures and Analyses
This appendix provides additional figures to supplement the analysis presented in Section III.

Size Quartiles
Figure A-1 shows the first, second and third quartiles by year for all OFN Member CDFIs excluding banks. The fourth quartile is excluded from the graphic
because it skews the presentation: fourth quartile maximums in 2013 were $704 million assets, $421 million loans outstanding and $654 million capital
available for lending.

APPENDIX A PAGE 1
Figure A-1.
Quartiles by Year for OFN Member CDFIs

Note:
n varies across years ranging from 42 in 1994 to 209 in 2013. Does not
include banks.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

APPENDIX A PAGE 2
Lending Sectors
Figure A-2 displays the distribution of loan sectors for urban and rural Member CDFIs.

Figure A-2.
Loan Types by Year

Note:
Other includes commercial real estate prior to 2009,
consumer financing, intermediary and other types of
financing.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

APPENDIX A PAGE 3
Sources of Borrowed and EQ2 Funding
Figure A-3.
Total Borrowed Funds by Source for
Loan Funds, 1994-2013

Note:
Includes borrowed and EQ2funds. Other includes
corporations, state and local governments, national
intermediaries, and other. n ranges from 42 in 1994 to
184 in 2013. Does not include banks.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

APPENDIX A PAGE 4
Return on Assets
Excluding the peak in 2000 and 2001, OFN Member return on assets (unrestricted net income over assets) has hovered around 2 percent, with slight
increases in the recent post-recession recovery. OFN Member CDFIs outperformed FDIC institutions, which averaged 0.96 percent ROA over the same
period.

Figure A-4.
Return on Assets (ROA), 1999-2013
Note:
OFN data does not include CDFIs that engage in consumer banking.
The comparison of OFN Member CDFIs to FDIC institutions is
imperfect given the wide variety of institution types regulated by
the FDIC. FDIC Inst. Average reflects simple average of all FDIC
institutions; OFN Member Average reflects simple average of OFN
Member CDFIs; and OFN Overall reflects weighted average of OFN
Member CDFIs.

Source:
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting.

APPENDIX A PAGE 5
APPENDIX B.
Definitions
APPENDIX B.
Definitions
Definitions of Financial and Performance Indicators
Financial and performance indicators were calculated for each CDFI in the dataset according to the formulas shown in Figure B-1.

Figure B-1. Indicator Formula

Definitions of Financial and Portfolio
Performance Indicators
Quality of Loan Portfolio
Delinqency Rate 90+ days Loans 90 days deliquent / (Loans Outstanding + Equity Investments)
Source: Net Charge-Off Rate Net charge offs / (Loans Outstanding + Equity Investments)
OFN Member Dataset and BBC Research & Consulting. Loan Loss Reserve as a % of Loans Loan Loss Reserve / Loans Outstanding
Net Assets Ratio Net Assets / Total Assets

Performance Indicators
Self Sufficiency Ratio Earned revenue / Operating expenses
Deployment Ratio (Loans Outstanding + Equity Investments) / Total Capital Available for Lending
Operating Margin Unrestricted Net Income / Operating Revenue
Return on Assets Unrestricted Net Income / Total Assets

Revenue Strength
[(Loans Outstanding @ Rate A x Rate A) + (Loans Outstanding @ Rate B x
Weighted Average Interest Rate
Rate B) + ...]/ Total Loans Outstanding
[(Borrowed Funds @ Rate A x Rate A) +(Borrowed Funds @ Rate B x Rate B)
Weighted Average Cost of Borrowed Funds
+ ...]/Total Borrowed Funds

APPENDIX B PAGE 1
Definitions of Financing Sectors
 Business: Financing to for-profit and nonprofit businesses that have more than five employees OR of financing in an amount of greater than
$50,000 or financing for the purpose of expansion, working capital, or equipment purchase/rental.

 Commercial real estate: Financing for construction, rehabilitation, acquisition or expansion of non- residential property used for office, retail, or
industrial purposes.

 Community services: Financing to community service organizations such as human and social service agencies, advocacy organizations,
cultural/religious organizations, health care providers, child care providers, and education providers, regardless of tax status. Uses include
acquisition, construction, renovation, leasehold improvement, and expansion loans as well as working capital loans and lines of credit.

 Consumer: Credit extended for personal (secured and unsecured) loans to individuals for health, education, emergency, debt consolidation,
transportation, and other consumer purposes.

 Housing to individuals: Financing to individuals to support homeownership and home improvement. Home equity loans are not included here
unless the purpose of the home equity loan is to finance housing-related activities (e.g., home repair, purchase of another home). All other home
equity loans should be classified based upon the purpose of the loan.

 Housing to organizations: Financing to housing organizations for purposes such as predevelopment, acquisition, construction, renovation,
lines of credit, working capital, and mortgage loans to support the development of rental or for-sale housing, service- enriched housing, transitional
housing, and/or residential housing.

 Intermediary: Financing provided to other CDFIs.

 Microenterprise: Financing to for profit and nonprofit businesses that have five or fewer employees (including the proprietor) and with a
maximum loan/ investment amount of $50,000. This financing may be for the purpose of start-up, expansion, working capital, or equipment
purchase/rental.

 Other: Any financing activities not included in the sectors defined above.

APPENDIX B PAGE 2
Notes
ofn.org