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CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER WITH THE ROLL CALL, PLEASE? COMMISSIONER GILL.COMMISSIONER, VICE PRESIDENT COOPER.
I HAVE BEFORE ME CERTIFICATION THAT THIS MEETING IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN PUBLIX MEETING ACT.
THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF OUR BANKING COMMITTEE HERE, BRINGS FROM LAST WEEK.
SO WE WILL WRITE INTO IT AND START OFF WITH P AND E BANK, PLEASE.
I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO LABEL ALL OF 'EM, BUT THEY'RE IN ORDER.
SO WE SHOULD ALL HAVE HANDOUTS FOR B AND C BANK.
OH, SEE, I'M SAD BY THE TEENTH PRINT GOING AWAY.
SO LET'S PLEASE START BY INTRODUCING YOU, UM, YOUR TEAM.
I'M THE SENIOR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER AT PNC FOR, UM, ESSEX COUNTY.
I'M THE RELATIONSHIP MANAGER WITH OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BANKING TEAM HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY AS WELL.
SO MY NAME IS JASMINE PENA AND I'M THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER AT PNC BAND.
AND IF I COULD JUST INTERJECT JASMINE, THANK YOU.
I I CAN HEAR YOU FINE, BUT IT'S MOST IMPORTANT THAT THE MIC PICKS YOU UP BECAUSE IT'S BEING RECORDED, SO NO PROBLEM.
IT'S NOT JUST AMPLIFICATION, IT'S THE RECORDING.
JASMINE PENA, PNC, UM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER.
SO THIS EVENING WE'D LIKE FOR YOU TO GIVE US A HIGH LEVEL REVIEW OF, UM, YOUR INVESTMENTS IN BANKING, UM, SERVICES AND PROGRAMS, YOUR INVESTMENTS WITH SMALL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY LENDING, AS WELL AS YOUR, UM, GRANTS THAT YOU ISSUED HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY.
BEFORE EACH PERSON SPEAK, PLEASE ALWAYS STATE YOUR NAME AND A AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD SINCE THIS MEETING IS BEING RECORDED, AND THEN EVENTUALLY WILL BE TRANSCRIBED.
UH, LAURA PERLOW FROM PNC BANK.
UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.
PNC IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF ESSEX COUNTY.
WE, UM, ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMUNITY AND WE'RE PROUD TO BE HERE.
SOME NUMBERS TO PUT OUT THERE.
WE HAVE, UM, IN, IN 2023 IN ESSEX COUNTY, WE HAD, UM, 50 LOANS FOR HOME PURCHASE.
THERE WERE 92 LOANS FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT AND 80 LOANS FOR REFINANCING.
UM, TOTAL, UH, THE CRA SMALL BUSINESS LENDING, TOTAL NUMBER OF LOANS, UM, 589.
UM, AND JUST SOME HIGH LEVEL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
MADE THREE LOANS TO ESSEX COUNTY NONPROFITS, TOTALING $2.750 MILLION.
UM, SOME PNC FOUNDATION ISSUED GRANTS TO 28 ORGANIZATIONS IN ESSEX COUNTY, TOTALING ABOUT 400,000.
THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL 220,050 CHARITABLE SPONSORSHIPS.
SO WE ARE IN THE COMMUNITY AND WE'RE PROUD TO BE.
UM, JUST A SIDE NOTE, I'M AN ESSEX COUNTY RESIDENT MYSELF.
I SERVED JURY DUTY HERE LAST YEAR.
UM, SO I, FROM A A PERSONAL NOTE, I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE AT PNC BANK TO BE THE RELATIONSHIP MANAGER SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY THAT I LIVE IN.
UM, GREG OR, OR, UH, JASMINE, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD.
YEAH, SO, UH, GREGORY KAY WITH I'M THE RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, AND I SPECIFICALLY DO COMMUNITY, LEND COMMUNITY, UH, DEVELOPMENT, LENDING AND INVESTING.
UM, I DID WANNA HIT ON ONE THING, UM, WITH, AS IT PERTAINS TO SMALL BUSINESS LENDING IN ESSEX COUNTY.
SO, UM, AS LAURA MENTIONED, UM, THERE ARE, THERE WERE 589 SMALL BUSINESS LOANS MADE.
BUT I DID WANNA NOTE, UH, 42% OF THOSE SMALL BUSINESS LOANS WERE MADE IN LOW TO MODERATE INCOME AREAS HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY.
UM, ALSO, UH, THERE WERE 57% OF THOSE SMALL BUSINESS LOANS WERE, UH, TO SMALL BUSINESSES WITH REVENUES UNDER $1 MILLION.
SO WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED IN, IN ESSEX COUNTY, SPECIFICALLY ON SOME OF THOSE SMALLER, SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, AND THEN THE PERCENTAGE OF LOANS, UH, THAT WERE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OR LESS WAS 86%.
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BUSINESS CATEGORY.I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE PERCENTAGES SO YOU'RE AWARE.
UM, THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IT ON THE SMALL BUSINESS SIDE.
JASMINE PENA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER.
I'D LIKE TO ALSO TOUCH ON OUR PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS AND HOW THEY'VE BEEN INVESTED IN ESSEX COUNTY.
UM, WE'VE INVESTED, UM, ABOUT, WELL, $397,887 IN GRANTS.
AND SO WE ARE SUPPORTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, COMMUNITY SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND IN ADDITION, I ALSO ADDED, UM, OUR SPONSORSHIPS, UM, WHICH WE'VE INVESTED 220,000 AS WELL.
SO IN ADDITION TO OUR, OUR PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS, WE'RE ALSO IN, YOU KNOW, BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN THE COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING, UM, CD SERVICES, GOING OUT THERE, PROVIDING FINANCIAL EDUCATION TO LOW AND MODERATE INCOME, UM, FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS.
EVERYONE THAT REACHES OUT TO ME, I AM
AND WE ALSO DO SHARE OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES JUST TO, UM, SHARE A FEW WITH REGARDS TO, UM, OUR MORTGAGES.
I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS.
SO JUST TO, UM, HIGHLIGHT A BIT OF HOW WE'VE EVOLVED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
WE ARE NOW, UM, PROVIDING IT 10 MORTGAGES, UM, WITH 97% LTV VALUES WHERE OUR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS OR JUST INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE IT MORTGAGES, CAN PURCHASE THEIR FIRST HOME, UM, BUILD THAT GENERATIONAL WEALTH.
WHEREAS TYPICALLY WITH CONVENTIONAL CONFORMING LOANS, UM, INDIVIDUALS WOULD HAVE TO PUT DOWN 20% BECAUSE THERE'S NO MORTGAGE INSURANCE THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO APPROVE THIS TYPE OF A LOAN.
SO NOW WE ARE OFFERING ITIN MORTGAGES.
WE ARE ALSO PARTICIPATING WITH THE SECTION EIGHT HOME OWNERSHIP VOUCHER PROGRAM, WHICH IS WHERE SECTION EIGHT WILL PAY FOR SOMEONE'S MORTGAGE, UM, WHO IS PARTICIPATING WITH THAT TYPE OF A PROGRAM FOR 15 YEARS.
AT THE END OF THE 15TH YEAR, IF THEY ARE NOT MORTGAGE READY, THEN THE BORROWER CAN SELL THE SUBJECT PROPERTY AND CAN KEEP THE PROCEEDS OF THE SALE OF THE HOME.
WE'RE ALSO, WE ALSO INCREASED OUR GRANTS IN ESSEX COUNTY FROM FIVE TO $10,000.
AND WE ARE ALSO ACCEPTING LAYERING OF THE GRANTS AS WELL.
UM, IN ADDITION TO OUR 90, IN ADDITION TO OUR I 10 SECTION EIGHT HOME OWNERSHIP VOUCHER AND OUR GRANTS, UM, INCREASING OUR GRANTS FROM FIVE TO 10,000, UM, WE ARE ALSO GIVING 1% OF, UM, A CONCESSION.
SO THAT, UM, UH, WHICH IS A CREDIT THAT CAN GO TOWARDS EITHER BUYING DOWN THE RATE BECAUSE WE'RE SO SENSITIVE RIGHT NOW WITH, UM, AND HOW THE RATES ARE SO, SO HIGH NOWADAYS, OR, UM, THEY CAN PUT IT TOWARDS CLOSING COSTS AS WELL.
SO JUST A BRIEF HIGHLIGHT OF, I THINK WE'VE DONE AN AMAZING JOB THIS YEAR, JUST, UM, WITH OUR MORTGAGE PRODUCTS JUST TO BE ABLE TO CATER TO ESSEX COUNTY AND, AND BUILD THAT GENERATIONAL WEALTH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS, MR. PRESIDENT? GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR COMING.
UH, CAN YOU TELL ME HOW SOMEONE GOES ABOUT AN, UH, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION GOES ABOUT GETTING A GRANT AND IS IT DONE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL OR ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT A, LIKE YOUR FOUNDATION LEVEL? YEAH, SO ANYONE CAN JUST REACH OUT TO ME.
UM, THEY CAN GO THROUGH OUR WEBSITE AND THEY CAN APPLY THROUGH OUR WEBSITE.
UM, OR THEY CAN CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW TO SUBMIT A, AN APPLICATION FOR, UM, FOUNDATION DOLLARS.
WHERE WOULD YOU GO ON YOUR WEBSITE? 'CAUSE I'M GOING HERE AND I SEE THAT YOU HAVE SOME LINES OF FUNDS, UH, HERE, BUT TOMMY, LIKE PNC.COM.
SO YOU WOULD GO THROUGH THE PNC, UM, FOUNDATION.
UM, THERE IS A LINK THAT I TYPICALLY SHARE, OR, UM, YEAH, IT'S NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.
UH, GREGORY KAY, UH, RELATIONSHIP MANAGER WITH PN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BANKING.
IT IS ON PNC, UH, PNCS WEBSITE, BUT THERE, THERE'S A FEW OTHER HYPER, THERE'S A FEW OTHER LINKS THAT WE, WE'D HAVE TO, WE'D HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU AND ACTUALLY SEND THE LINK TO YOU SO YOU HAVE IT.
THE REASON WHY I'M ASKING IS THAT IF, AND I AM, AND I'M NOT ASKING, AND I'M NOT GOING FOR GRANT FOR YOU, BUT I, YOU KNOW, MY CAPACITY OF A NONPROFIT GUY DURING THE DAYTIME.
SO HOW WOULD SOMEONE LIKE ME TO GO ABOUT APPLYING FOR A GRANT? 'CAUSE I'M GOING HERE AND IT'S NOT IMMEDIATE.
YOU SAY IT'S ON THE WEBSITE, BUT IT'S NOT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE.
AND WHEN YOU SAY YOU COULD SEE
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YOU, THAT'S GREAT, BUT I KNOW NOW WHO THAT PERSON IS 'CAUSE YOU'RE HERE BEFORE ME.BUT MAYBE A COLLEAGUE OF MINE IN AN OFFICE WORKING RIGHT NOW DOES NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND HOW TO REACH YOU.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT.
AND CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE KIND OF GRANTS THAT YOU GAVE TO WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATIONS? YOU SAID THEY WERE BETWEEN FIVE AND $10,000 GRANTS? UM, NO, ACTUALLY IT'S BETWEEN FIVE TO OR TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND MM-HMM
AND SO WE CATER TO ALL TYPES OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.
UM, WE DO CATER TO, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, SMALL BUSINESSES ARE, ARE YOU REFERRING TO PARTICULARLY HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY? YES.
UM, TRANSITIONAL HOUSING UNIT, LIKE APOSTLES HOUSE, UM, LA UM, THERE'S SO MANY, I MEAN, FOOD BANKS AS WELL.
HAVE YOU DONE ANY, SAY ARTS MUSEUMS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE? UM, THROUGH OUR GROW UP UPGRADE, YES.
THROUGH OUR REGIONAL, THROUGH OUR REGIONAL PRESIDENT'S OFFICE.
SO WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THAT THAN THE OTHER GRANTS? SO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IS, IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN OUR REGIONAL PRESIDENT'S OFFICE BECAUSE WE HAVE A FOCUS, UM, AND WE CATER TO LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUALS.
NOW, WHEN IT COMES TO MUSEUMS AND ARTS, WE CAN'T SPECIFICALLY COLLECT DOCUMENTATION CONFIRMING THAT.
UM, THEY JUST CATER TO 51% LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUALS.
SO IN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BANKING, UM, SECTION, THAT'S WHERE I COME, THAT'S WHERE WE COME IN.
UM, WE ONLY CATER TO LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUALS, UM, THAT MEET THE 80% A MI, UM, INCOME LEVEL.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO MUSEUMS, THEN THAT, UM, IS CATERED BY A REGIONAL PRESIDENT'S OFFICE BECAUSE THEY DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUALS.
SO THEN HOW DOES SOMEONE FIND THAT OUT? SO ALSO THROUGH THE WEBSITE, UM, THERE IS A LINK, I CAN ALSO SHARE THAT WITH YOU AND, AND FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOU WITH REGARDS TO THE REASON WHY I'M ASKING, UH, SPECIFICALLY, I REALLY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHARE THE LINK WITH ME MM-HMM
IS THAT I'M TRYING TO ADVOCATE FOR THE NON-PROFITS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT FROM INSTITUTIONS.
AND YOU SAY THE WEBSITE, BUT IT REALLY IS NOT CLEAR, AND THEY WOULDN'T REALLY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE WITH WHAT YOU'RE DIFFERENTIATING.
NOW, WHERE WOULD YOU GO FOR THE PRESIDENT'S REGION KNOW REGIONAL? WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT IT'S CONSTANT.
WELL, I, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT.
HOWEVER, UM, TYPICALLY WHEN SOMEONE APPLIES FOR A GRANT, THEY GO THROUGH A REGIONAL PRESIDENT'S OFFICE.
AND SO A REGIONAL PRESIDENT, WHEN THEY SEE THAT IT'S AN ORGANIZATION THAT, UM, PERHAPS MAY, UM, BE A LOW TO MODERATE INCOME, THEY SEND THAT REFERRAL OVER TO ME AND I FOLLOW UP WITH THE INSTITUTION AND SCHEDULE A, A CALL, A TEAMS CALL, CALL.
I'M NOT NECESSARILY ASKING THOUGH ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO LOW TO MODERATE INCOME.
I'M TALKING ABOUT JUST CULTURAL IN GENERAL INSTITUTIONS.
IT, THERE'S, THERE'S GOTTA BE HUNDREDS OF HUNDREDS OF NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT ESSEX COUNTY ALONE THAT, YOU KNOW, SEEK ASSISTANCE.
AND SO I KNOW EVERYONE SAYS COMMUNITY PARTNER AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, BUT I'M FINDING THAT TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT AMONG BANKS.
I UNDERSTAND, AND IT'S GREAT THAT YOU GIVE TO THE LARGE CENTERS.
I'M ASKING LIKE, DO YOU FUND SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS? ABSOLUTE REAL SMALL ORGANIZATIONS, THE ONES THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HAD THREE OR FOUR EMPLOYEES, BUT YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SERVING THAT NICHE IN SOCIETY AND WE DO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, FOR EXAMPLE, A SMALLER ARTS ORGANIZATION.
AND, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE ALSO DO, UM, SPONSOR AND PROVIDE GRANTS TO SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS, EVEN THOSE THAT HAVE TWO EMPLOYEES, UM, SUCH AS COMMUNITY FIRST THAT IS HERE IN NEWARK.
UM, WE PROVIDED, UM, SPONSORSHIP SUPPORT.
UM, SO WE, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO, TO GET TO ME, LIKE I SAID, WE ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND IF THERE ARE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD LIKE TO APPLY, THEY'LL EITHER TALK TO OUR, UM, BRANCH MANAGERS OR I'M TYPICALLY AROUND.
SO THAT, CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR GRANTS AND YOUR SPONSORSHIP FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC? ABSOLUTELY.
SO WITH GRANTS, WE DO NOT, UM, WE DO HELP FURTHER THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND WE DO NOT EXPECT ANYTHING IN RETURN.
WHEREAS WITH A SPONSORSHIP, WE ARE, UM, ALSO HELPING, YOU KNOW, FURTHERING THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION.
HOWEVER, UM, THAT MAY ENTAILS A TABLE OR, UM, THEY'LL PROMOTE OUR NAME, UM, ON, ON BOARDS AND, UM, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT WE DO, YOU KNOW, RECEIVE SOMETHING IN EXCHANGE FOR THAT SPONSORSHIP.
DOES ESSEX COUNTY DO A LOT OF BUSINESS WITH YOU FOLKS? ABSOLUTELY.
HOW, HOW MUCH WOULD YOU QUALIFY? HOW MUCH FUNDS DO WE HAVE THERE WITH YOU? SO, MR. PRESIDENT, OUR TOTAL DEPOSITS
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WITH PNC BANK IS $95 MILLION.WOULD YOU SAY THAT'S A LARGE CUSTOMER FOR YOU? THE PUBLIC FROM THE I'M, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME OF, OH, SORRY, SORRY.
LAURA PERLOW FROM, UM, PNC BANK.
I'M THE SENIOR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER PART OF THE PUBLIC FINANCE, UM, GROUP.
UH, WE DO BUSINESS WITH ESSEX COUNTY.
WE ALSO DO BUSINESS WITH EAST, THE CITY OF EAST ORANGE.
UM, AND THEY ARE A VERY IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP TO, UM, OUR PUBLIC FINANCE FRANCHISE.
SO THAT, IF WE HAVE A SUGGESTION, THEN MAYBE YOU COULD TAKE IT BACK TO WHOEVER IT MAY BE, WHO PUTS TOGETHER THE WEBSITE? WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.
SO, SO I'VE BEEN HERE NOW, THIS IS LIKE MY SEVENTH YEAR, AND EVERY YEAR WE GO THROUGH THIS, AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A BIT, AND I THINK I REMEMBER AT LEAST TWO OF YOU, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO THE, THE ISSUE IS LIKE, THAT'S ALL GREAT, AND I KNOW YOU'RE THE POINT PERSON.
UH, BUT I'M THINKING MORE, MORE LIKE A, MORE OF AN INFRASTRUCTURAL TYPE OF QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU.
I'M SURE YOU'RE A LOVELY PERSON, YOU'RE, YOU ALL FOLKS THAT COME IN, VERY NICE PEOPLE.
AND I'M NOT BEING, I DON'T THINK I'M TRYING TO BE MEAN TO ANYBODY WHEN I SAY THIS, BUT WHAT, WHAT ISN'T REALLY EASY? I CAN GO HERE, PNC.COM, SAY, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES, GRANTS, SPONSORSHIPS.
AND, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN IT FOR SEVEN YEARS.
SO AFTER SO MANY YEARS, AND I KEEP DOING THE SAME LINE OF QUESTIONS AND WE STILL DO THAT KIND OF BUSINESS WITH YOU.
I WOULD THINK THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS, WHICH IS FAIRLY SIMPLE, SINCE YOU ALREADY OFFERED AND YOU'RE DOING IT, COULD BE A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR THE NON-PROFIT THAT DON'T, SOMEONE HAS TO CHAMPION FOR THE NON-PROFIT.
SEE, AND THAT MIGHT BE SO, UH, WE DON'T SEE IT.
LAURA PERLOW, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME.
PNC BANK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WEBSITE IS A, IS A GLOBAL WEBSITE.
UM, AND WE'RE HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY.
LIKE JASMINE HAS SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, SHE KNOWS ALL THE BRANCH, ALL THE BRANCH MANAGERS IN, IN ESSEX COUNTY.
I'VE HAD EMAILS SENT TO ME SAYING, DO YOU COVER THIS NONPROFIT, FOR EXAMPLE? SO, UM, THE LOCAL COMMUNITY IN OUR, OUR COLLEAGUES IN ESSEX COUNTY KNOW WHO TO GO TO.
IF AN, IF A NONPROFIT IS GOING INTO THE BRANCH ASKING FOR, UM, BANKING SERVICES OR A GRANT OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES, IT WOULD GET TO JASMINE OR MYSELF IN SOME WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.
SO WHAT YOU'RE, IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WHAT OTHER BANKS CAN'T DO, YOU CAN'T DO IN TERMS OF PROVIDING A SIMPLE LINK? NO, I'M NOT.
I, I, I, I REALLY BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND WE KNOW EVERYBODY, BUT THAT'S GREAT.
BUT IT ISN'T WHAT I'M ASKING, AND WE KEEP GOING BACK TO, TO THE BOOTS IN THE GONE AND ALL THE BRANCH MANAGERS.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS VERY SIMPLE.
ALL THE BANKS HAVE BEEN MAKE VERY CLEAR AND VERY SIMPLE TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THE FOUNDATION SIDE OR WHATEVER GRANT MAKING YOU MAY HAVE LOCAL AND OR FOUNDATION SIDE.
AND IT'S NOT VERY CLEAR HERE IN THE WEBSITE.
AND SO WHAT I'M ASKING IS THAT AS A PRETTY BIG CLIENT, IF WE COULD BRING THAT HOME, I'M SURE YOU GUYS KNOW HOW TO REACH THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE.
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT FOR PNC.
SO I WILL TAKE THAT BACK DIRECTLY TO, UH, THE HI, HIGHER MANAGEMENT, UPPER MANAGEMENT, AND SEE IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO VIEW AND FIND NUMBER.
IF YOU'RE ALREADY DOING IT, SHOULDN'T BE A CHALLENGE.
'CAUSE REST ASSURED, WHEN YOU COME BACK NEXT YEAR, GUESS WHO'S GONNA BE ASKING? ABSOLUTELY.
SAME QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED LAST YEAR, AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, AFTER SO MANY YEARS, WE DON'T, WE DON'T SEE ANY REAL PROGRESS, TO BE HONEST.
AND I'M, AND I'M HOPEFUL THIS YEAR WE, WE CAN GET SOME PROGRESS ON IN THAT, IN, IN REGARDS TO IT.
SO I'LL TAKE IT BACK AND WE'LL, WE'LL WORK ON IT.
SO YOU GUYS SHARED A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT STOOD OUT TO ME.
ONE, PRIORITIZING SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT MAKE UNDER LESS THAN UNDER A MILLION DOLLARS IN REVENUE EACH YEAR.
UM, AND TWO, PRIORITIZING BUSINESSES IN SMALL LOWER INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS, LOWER TO MODERATE INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS, ALL OF WHICH REALLY STANDS OUT TO ME AS A, A IMPORTANT PARTICULARITY BECAUSE THAT'S A, A DETAIL THAT'S OFTEN MISSED.
I'M CURIOUS, WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT PRACTICES THAT ARE COMMUNITY INFORMED, UH, FOR SETTING YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GOALS? RIGHT.
IT'S CLEAR THAT YOUR, UH, GOALS SEEM RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY.
HOW ARE YOU CHECKING IN WITH LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS, UH, LOCAL HOMEOWNERS OR HOMEOWNERS TO BE, TO ACTUALLY SET THOSE GOALS THAT YOU ALL MAKE FOR YOURSELF AS A BRANCH? SO, I, I CAN TAKE THAT ONE.
UH, GREGORY KAY, UM, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BANKING RELATIONSHIP MANAGER.
SO, UM, WITH SPECIFIC, WITH SPECIFICALLY IN REGARDS TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY, EACH OF THE BRANCH MANAGERS THAT MANAGE THEIR BRANCHES HAVE SPECIFIC GOALS AS IT PERTAINS TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, SPECIFICALLY SMALL BUSINESS LENDING, UM, HOME LENDING.
SO THE BRANCH MANAGERS IN THESE LOCAL BRANCHES HAVE SPECIFIC GOALS AROUND, YOU
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KNOW, WHO IN THEIR COMMUNITY THEY NEED, THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO HELP, WHETHER IT'S A SMALL BUSINESS THAT MAKES UNDER A MILLION IN REVENUE MM-HMMTHAT TYPICALLY IS, IS A LOAN REQUEST THAT'S HANDLED DIRECTLY IN THE BRANCH BY THAT BRANCH MANAGER.
IF HE OR SHE NEEDS TO GET SUPPORT FROM OUTSIDE, HE OR SHE WOULD GO TO HIS MA, YOU KNOW, THEIR MANAGER, AND THEN THEY CAN MOVE THAT OVER TO EITHER MY WORLD OR TO A SMALL BUSINESS, UH, SPECIFICALLY A BUSINESS BANKER.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THAT OUR BUSINESS BANKING TEAM, THEY, THEY ARE NOT DIRECTLY IN OUR BRANCHES.
THEY'RE A WHOLE SEPARATE SET OF SMALL BUSINESS ONLY RELATIONSHIP MANAGERS.
AND THEIR GOALS ARE SEPARATE FROM THE BRANCH MANAGERS.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE, UM, WAYS THAT WE CAN TOUCH OUR CLIENTS, RIGHT? WE HAVE THE BRANCHES AND THE, THE BRANCH MANAGERS.
BRANCH MANAGERS AND THEIR SPECIFIC GOALS.
AND WE HAVE OUR BUSINESS BANKING TEAM AND THEIR SPECIFIC GOALS, WHICH ARE, WHICH ARE OVERARCHING TO THE BRANCHES.
UM, I WORK DIRECTLY IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING.
I WORK DIRECTLY WITH SOME OF OUR BUSINESS BANKING TEAM.
IF THEY HAVE A REQUEST THAT'S A LOW TO MODERATE INCOME NATURE REQUEST, UH, OR IF IT'S A NONPROFIT TYPE OF REQUEST, I WILL TYPICALLY WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE BUSINESS BANKER ON THAT SPECIFIC, UM, CLIENT.
SO I THINK THAT, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN TOUCH THE CUSTOMER BRANCH BUSINESS BANKING TEAM, UH, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BANKING TEAM IN ADDITION TO PUBLIC FINANCE AS WELL.
AND WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN ESSEX OR, UH, PERHAPS FOLKS WHO ARE PART OF THOSE LOCAL BUSINESSES, LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS OR FOLKS WITH FUTURE HOMEOWNERS, ET CETERA, HOW DO THEY INFORM HOW YOU GUYS SET THOSE GOALS? OR IS IT KIND OF, YOU GUYS ARE DOING LIKE, MARKET RESEARCH AND YOU'RE LIKE, THIS MAY BE HELPFUL FOR THIS NEIGHBORHOOD? SO IT'S INTERESTING.
UM, WE DID A, WE DO A, IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, WE DO A SYMPOSIUM EVERY YEAR.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO, AND WE'VE STARTED DOING THIS NOW, I GUESS IT'S BEEN WHAT, OVER THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, UM, WE'VE REALLY BEEN RAMPING UP ATTENDANCE.
AND WHAT THAT DOES, WHAT IT, WHAT IT DOES IS WE REACH OUT TO AS MANY NONPROFITS AS WE CAN TELL OUR STORY TO, AND WE INVITE THE, THE THOUGHT LEADERS OF THESE NONPROFITS.
TYPICALLY AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT, CEO, WHAT HAVE YOU, UH, TO A COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM.
IT'S TYPICALLY HELD IN PITTSBURGH, OUR HEADQUARTERS, OUR CEO ATTENDS OUR, THE HEAD OF OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BANKING, UH, GROUP ATTENDS OUR, UM, UH, SEVERAL OF OUR, UH, C-SUITE LEADERS WILL ALSO ATTEND.
AND THE GOAL OF THIS SYMPOSIUM IS TO TAKE ALL OF THE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE AND BRING THEM TO THE BANK DIRECTLY, SPECIFICALLY BRINGING THEM TO THE BANK'S LEADERSHIP DIRECTLY.
IT'S BEEN A VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL, UM, SYMPOSIUM.
IN FACT, I THINK ATTENDANCE THIS PAST YEAR, UH, WAS MUCH MORE, UH, WAS MUCH, UH, HEAVIER THAN EVEN THE YEAR BEFORE.
SO WE ARE STARTING TO SEE AN A BIT OF AN INCREASE IN ATTENDANCE, WHICH IS, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT.
WE WANT, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM THE, THESE FOLKS ABOUT WHAT THEIR CHALLENGES ARE AND HOW WE HELP THEM OVERCOME THEM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? SO, UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU ALL TO FOLLOW UP AND PROVIDE TO ADAM.
UM, HE'S IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM BEFORE YOU LEAVE, YOU CAN GIVE HIM EACH PERSON.
ON PAGE TWO OF YOUR RESPONSE, YOU GAVE US THE NUMERIC NUMBER OF THE LOANS THAT YOU ISSUED.
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE AGGREGATE NUMBER OF WHAT ALL THOSE LOANS REPRESENT FOR EACH ITEM.
HOME PURCHASE, HOME IMPROVEMENT, REFINANCING.
UM, NEXT PAGE, ON PAGE THREE, YOU REFERENCED THAT YOU ALL HAVE STARTED A PROGRAM THAT ALLOW FOLKS TO TAKE THEIR SECTION EIGHT VOUCHERS AND APPLY THEM TOWARDS THEIR MORTGAGES.
HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS HAVE YOU STARTED DOING THAT PROGRAM WITH? HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN UP AND RUNNING? HOW SUCCESSFUL HAS IT, HAS IT BEEN? SAME THING, SIMILAR WITH THE I 10 PROGRAM THAT YOU REFERENCED.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT TOOL IN OUR REALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITY WHERE SOME OF US DON'T HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS AND THIS PRODUCT ALLOWS, UM, PEOPLE TO STILL GET ACCESS TO THE CAPITAL THAT THEY NEED.
HOW DO PEOPLE FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES? YES, YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE, BUT WHO'S YOU? I KEEP HEARING BOOTS ON THE GROUND SPEAKING TO THE COMMENTS THAT MR. PRESIDENT MADE.
IF I'M NOT A CLIENT OF YOURS, A CUSTOMER OF YOURS, I WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT YOU.
I WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT YOUR GRANT.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS FOR YOU TO MAKE YOUR INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE, MORE USER FRIENDLY, EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO GET TO.
AT A MINIMUM YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD HAVE WHO THE CONTACT PERSON IS.
UM, GO TO OUR LOCAL BRANCH TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GIVING, ABOUT OUR FOUNDATION.
RIGHT NOW, LOOKING ON YOUR WEBSITE, YOU DON'T QUITE GET THAT.
JASMINE PENA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER.
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WITH REGARDS TO HOW WE'RE PROMOTING OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, WE DO HOST, UM, WEBINARS AND WE DO HOST, UM, IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS WITH, UM, IRONBOUND COMMUNITY CORPORATION WITH NEW JERSEY CITIZENS ACTION WITH THE URBAN LEAGUE OF ESSEX COUNTY.SO WE ARE PROMOTING OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DURING OUR, UM, DURING, UM, THE NONPROFITS FIRST TIME HOME BUYER WORKSHOPS.
SO A REQUEST THAT I'M GOING TO MAKE IS GOING FORWARD TO PLEASE INCLUDE OUR OFFICE AS A PART OF THE NOTIFICATION WHEN YOU HOST THOSE KINDS OF PROGRAMS SO THAT WE CAN EQUALLY SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS, POST IT ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER PLATFORMS TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT.
OUR GOAL IS TO PLAY THE CONNECTION GAME WITH OUR RESIDENTS WHO'S LOOKING FOR FINANCING AS WELL AS OUR SMALL BUSINESS PARTNERS.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO REACH OUT TO OUR SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE AND CONNECT WITH THE RESOURCES AND FOLKS THAT WE HAVE THERE WHO MAY NEED SOME FINANCING IF THEY'RE LOOKING TO DO PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, IN RESPONSE TO ANY OF THE RFPS OR BIDS THAT WE MAY HAVE OUT.
SO, UM, WE HOST WORKSHOPS TOO, WITH SMALL BUSINESS ENTITIES WHO ARE LOOKING TO BUSINESS WITH THE COUNTY, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WOULD COME AND BE A VENDOR OR A TABLE SO THAT WE CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
UM, ANOTHER COMMENT IS, I'M HAPPY TO SEE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GRANTS THAT YOU DISTRIBUTED HERE IN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, BUT FOR ME, I KIND OF HAVE LIKE A PERCENTAGE GOAL IN MY HEAD.
AND ALTHOUGH THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT NUMBER GROW A LITTLE BIT MORE.
TO BALANCE OUT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS THAT YOU HOLD FOR US AT THE COUNTY, IT'S $95 MILLION.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A LIST OF BANKS THAT WE HOLD DEPOSITS WITH, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BANKS THAT WE DO BUSINESS WITH IS EQUALLY DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CONSTITUENTS HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY AS WELL AS THE SMALL BUSINESSES.
MR. CORY, DID I MISS ANYTHING? WILL WE WANNA REFER THEM? JULIUS CORY, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR? NO, YOU DID NOT.
BUT I WAS WONDERING, DO YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE VARIOUS COUNTIES, SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE, AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU'RE GOING INTO, UH, COMMUNITIES, YOU'RE HAVING RELATIONSHIPS, BUT WE NEED TO BUILD OUR SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE SO WE CAN BRING THEM IN TO DO MORE PURCHASING WITH US SO THEY COULD SELL THEIR ITEMS AND IN TURN DO MORE BUSINESS WITH YOU.
SO WE DO HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE THAT YOU SHOULD CONNECT TO.
AND LOOKING AT THE WAY YOU PRESENT YOURSELF CURRENTLY IS THAT YOU GO OUTSIDE OF THAT OFFICE, IT RIGHT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE LOOKING TO BRING THEM INTO US ALSO.
SO IF YOU CAN SET UP A MEETING, UH, WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS.
THE DIRECTOR THERE IS RENEE BURGESS, AND HER NUMBER IS 9 7 3 6 2 1 2 0 1 OH.
MR. COLT TREE, CAN YOU ALSO PLEASE SHARE THE LINKS THAT YOU REFERENCED INTO THE GRANT MAKING SIDE OF THINGS WITH ADAM AS WELL, AND HE WILL SHARE THAT AMONG ALL THE COMMISSIONERS.
IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND TO KEEP MAKING THE INVESTMENTS HERE IN THE COUNTY.
PLEASE, UM, INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM.
UH, BRIAN RENO, CITIZENS BANK, GOVERNMENT BANKING, TOM CASPER, CITIZENS BANK, GOVERNMENT
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BANK, TOM CASPER, CITIZENS BANK, GOVERNMENT BANKING.SO, UM, AS YOU DO YOUR PRESENTATION, AS EACH PERSON SPEAK, IF YOU SWITCH OFF, PLEASE ALWAYS PUT YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD BECAUSE WE'RE RECORDING THIS MEETING.
SO PLEASE GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF YOUR RESPONSE.
UM, FOCUS ON YOUR SMALL BUSINESS LENDING, YOUR HOME MORTGAGE PRODUCTS, YOUR GRANTS, UM, AND PROGRAM SERVICES THAT YOU HAVE.
UH, I'D LIKE TO START OFF WITH OUR COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT PERFORMANCE.
UH, OUR LAST RATING WAS OUTSTANDING.
UH, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT THE LINK PROVIDED, UH, LENDING ACTIVITY IN ESSEX COUNTY.
THEM INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED IN THE ATTACHMENTS.
UH, A NUMBER OF LOANS, UM, SMALL BUSINESS LOANS WAS 51 PERCENTAGE OF LOANS IN LMI WAS 66.7%.
PERCENTAGE OF LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESS WITH REVENUES LESS THAN A MILLION WAS 88.2 PERCENTAGE OF LOANS OF AMOUNTS A HUNDRED THOUSAND OR LESS, 86.3%.
OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS, UM, AS DEFINED BY CRA REGULATION, UH, WE DID NOT.
UM, CITIZENS WORK TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES BY PROVIDING FINANCIAL RESOURCES THAT ENABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
OUR CAPITAL ENABLES ORGANIZATIONS TO ADVANCE THEIR PLANS TO EXPAND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES, REVITALIZE COMMUNITIES AND FUEL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WE PROVIDE FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN THE FORM OF LOANS AND EQUITY INVESTMENTS.
WE ALSO SUPPORT COMMUNITY CDFIS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, MISSION-DRIVEN SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT CORPORATIONS AND OTHER PUBLIC WELFARE INVESTMENT LEVERAGING TAX ADVANTAGE TOOLS.
SINCE 2022, CITIZENS ORIGINATED SIX COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS TOTALING $51,624,382 IN SUPPORT OF MULTIFAMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
UM, IN OUR, UM, DOCUMENTATION THAT WE PROVIDED, WE DID NOT LIST THE NUMBER OF GRANTS, BUT I DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE TONIGHT, SO I'LL SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
UM, FOR ESSEX COUNTY, WE HAVE PROVIDED 28 GRANTS, $520,950 26 CRA QUALIFIED $331,200.
UNDER PHILANTHROPY AT CITIZENS.
GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES IS CORE TO WHO WE ARE AS A COMPANY THROUGH VOLUNTEERISM AND FROM A PHILANTHROPIC STANDPOINT.
THROUGH OUR CORPORATE GIVING AND VOLUNTEERISM PROGRAMS, WE WORK ALONGSIDE OUR NEIGHBORS TO BUILD STRONGER COMMUNITIES, FOCUSING ON STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES THROUGH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT.
WE OFFER GENEROUS PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS AND PROGRAMS IN NEW JERSEY.
UH, DID YOU WANT ME TO RUN THROUGH THE LIST OR, UH, NO, YOU CAN, YOU CAN CONTINUE.
IN 2023, CITIZENS COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS VOLUNTEER 103 HOURS WITH 10 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS IN ESSEX COUNTY.
UM, DO WE HAVE A PROPRIETARY HOME MORTGAGE PRODUCT FOR LMI BORROWERS? THE ANSWER IS YES, AND THAT WOULD BE OUR CITIZENS DESTINATION HOME MORTGAGE PROGRAM, CITIZENS CLOSING COST ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, CITIZENS GOAL BUILDER, HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT.
UH, WE ALSO, AND, UH, NUMBER TWO ON PAGE FOUR, UM, WE LAID OUT A DESCRIPTION OF OUR FIRST TIME HOME, HOME BUYER, VETERANS, AND SMALL BUSINESS PRODUCTS FOR LMI NEIGHBORHOODS.
MOVING ON TO PAGE FIVE, CITIZENS BUSINESS BANKING AND RETAIL TEAMS ENGAGE WITH SMALL BUSINESSES TO HELP BUILD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT TAKES TO PLAN AND LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES, EFFECTIVE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND BUSINESS GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES.
OUR TEAMS ALSO ALSO WORK TO CONNECT SMALL BUSINESS WITH THE FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THEY NEED TO OPERATE AND GROW UNDER MINORITY PRODUCTS FOR WOMEN AND VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES.
CITIZENS DOES NOT CURRENTLY, CURRENTLY HAVE SPECIFIC DESIGNATED LOAN PRODUCTS FOR MINORITY WOMEN AND VETERAN OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
HOWEVER, CITIZENS HAS PROVIDED A PROVISION OF GRANT DOLLARS IN SUPPORT OF THESE BUSINESS GROUPS.
AS AN EXAMPLE, IS THE CITIZEN SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARDS THAT PROVIDES $10,000 GRANTS TO MINORITY WOMEN AND VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES ACROSS THE BANK.
CITIZEN CREATED THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD PROGRAM AS PART OF ITS ONGOING COMMITMENT TO STRENGTHEN LOCAL ECONOMIES AND COMMUNITIES.
IN 2023, THE PROGRAM HAS AWARDED MORE THAN $1.2 MILLION TO DESERVING SMALL BUSINESSES, INCLUDING TWO BUSINESSES IN NEW JERSEY.
UH, MOVING DOWN TO NUMBER FOUR, UM, IF WE, IF THE BANK PARTICIPATES IN FINANCING OF PRISONS, WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO PRIVATE PRISONS IN OUR PORTFOLIO, NEITHER ARE LOCATED IN NEW JERSEY.
MOVING ON TO PAGE SIX, UM, PROVIDE PUBLIC FOLLOWING PUBLICLY DATA FOR ACTIVITY IN ESSEX COUNTY.
UH, NUMBER OF FORECLOSURES FILED IN ESSEX COUNTY IN THE PAST YEAR.
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STARTS WITHIN ESSEX COUNTY.NUMBER OF REO PROPERTIES CURRENTLY OWNED BY THE BANK AT THE END OF OCTOBER, 2024.
REO INVENTORY NATIONWIDE IS INCLUSIVE OF 78 BANK OWNED LOANS.
NUMBER OF REO PROPERTIES CURRENTLY ON MUNICIPAL, A PRA LIST IN ESSEX COUNTY, THERE WAS NONE.
UM, DO YOU HAVE PROGRAMS TO RETURN TO ABANDONED AND FORECLOSED PROPERTY TO PRODUCTIVE USE? WE DO, HOWEVER, CLEAN UP PROPERTIES VIA THE REO PROCESS USING OUR VENDORS AND AGENTS TO LIST TO SELL THE HOME FOR THE BEST PRICE.
DESCRIBE PROGRAMS YOU HAVE DESIGNED TO ALLOW BARS TO REMAIN IN THEIR HOMES.
OUR LOSS MITIGATION CURRENTLY HAS FORBEARANCE AND LOAN MODIFICATION PROGRAMS, AND WE PARTICIPATE IN THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSISTANCE FUNDS THROUGH THE STATE'S A PRA.
HOW DOES YOUR INSTITUTION DISPOSE OF REO PROPERTIES? PLEASE DEAL, DETAIL THE PROCESS AND PROVIDE THE WEBSITE.
REO OBTAINS VALUES PERFORMS PRESERVATION WORK.
AND WHEN THE RECORDED DEED IS RECEIVED, THE PROPERTY IS PLACED ON THE MARKET FOR SALE.
IF OCCUPIED, AN EVICTION REFERRAL IS SENT.
UPON RECEIPT OF THE FORECLOSURE DEED, WE UTILIZE AN ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY, REO MANAGEMENT, PHOENIX ASSET MANAGEMENT PORTAL, R RESNET, AND A-R-E-M-C-O.
HOW DOES YOUR INSTITUTION MAINTAIN A RPA PROPERTIES? HOW CAN WOMEN VETERAN MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES PARTICIPATE IN PROPERTY MAINTENANCE OPPORTUNITIES? CITIZENS USES THREE PROPERTY PRESERVATION VENDORS TO MAINTAIN AND MONITOR PROPERTIES IN DEFAULT.
OUR VENDORS, ARAMCO, MCS AND SAFEGUARD ALL PARTNER WITH WOMEN VETERAN AND OWNED MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES.
AND FINAL SECTION SIX, UNDER BANKING SERVICES.
UH, HOW MANY BRANCHES DO WE HAVE IN ESSEX COUNTY? WE HAVE 14.
ARE ALL A DA COMPLIANT? UH, RIGHT NOW THEY ARE NOT, BUT PLANS ARE IN THE UPCOMING YEAR TO GET THEM INTO A DA COMPLIANCE.
UH, DO WE HAVE A MINORITY STAFFING POLICY? THE ANSWER IS NO.
AND WE'VE PROVIDED OUR CITIZENS NEW JERSEY CERTIFICATE EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATE.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONERS.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, COMMISSIONER.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
YOU SPOKE A LOT ABOUT YOUR DIFFERENT COMMUNITY INITIATIVES FROM SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, LENDING, UH, FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, THINGS ALONG THAT NATURE, ET CETERA.
COULD YOU TALK ABOUT ANY PRACTICES YOU GUYS HAVE IN PLACE THAT HAVE THE COMMUNITY THEMSELVES INFORM THE GOALS THAT YOU SET FOR YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES? YEAH, THAT'S PART OF OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OUTREACH OFFICERS.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY COULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT.
THEY'RE DOING WHATEVER THESE SEMINARS TONIGHT.
SO WE, UH, WE'RE TAKING THE PROGRAM TONIGHT.
UM, I CAN HAPPY TO GET MORE INFORMATION BACK TO YOU.
I DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR YOU THOUGH.
I, I DEFER TO HER FIRST TODAY.
CAN YOU GO BACK TO YOUR GRANTS? YOU THINK YOU GAVE, YOU SAID YOU GAVE OUT 28 GRANTS TO THE TUNE OF JUST OVER HALF A MILLION DOLLARS.
WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVED THAT KIND OF FUNDING? I CAN GET DETAIL FOR YOU.
YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SINGLE ONE? DO YOU KNOW ANY IN ESSEX COUNTY? I DO NOT, UNFORTUNATELY.
WE'RE UNDER A TIGHT TIMEFRAME THIS YEAR.
UM, WE JUST GOT NOTICE ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO TO BE HERE, SO WE, WE COULDN'T GET THAT TOGETHER IN TIME, BUT HAPPY TO GET IT FOR YOU.
HAVE YOU BEEN HERE BEFORE? YES.
REST ASSURED THAT'LL BE A QUESTION EVERY YEAR THAT WE'RE GONNA ASK.
SO THAT'S INFORMATION WE NEED TO HAVE ALL THE TIME.
SO WE ARE GONNA NEED TO FOLLOW UP WITH ADAM ON THAT.
DO YOU KNOW, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATIONS YOU FUND? YOU COULDN'T NAME ONE.
I'M, SO I'M NOT PART OF THE, THE FOUNDATION AN INVESTORS BANK.
UH, THAT'S WHERE WE PROBABLY CHATTED ABOUT.
I WAS WAY MORE INVOLVED AND CITIZENS.
I'M NOT, THAT'S KIND OF SEPARATE ENTITY.
STILL DOESN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION THOUGH.
IN, IN, YOU KNOW, A HIGH LEVEL MM-HMM
UM, CITIZENS GRANTS ARE AROUND, UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND ENDING HUNGER.
THAT'S THE TWO MAIN PRIORITIES.
SO YOU TOOK OVER INVESTORS' BANK? YES.
AND DID YOU TAKE OVER THEIR FOUNDATION AS WELL? UH, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP, I BELIEVE SO.
IS THAT ACTIVE IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT WAS BEFORE? YES.
JUST O OPERATING INDEPENDENTLY OF SEPARATE.
WILL THAT CONTINUE THAT WAY, OR IS THERE A PLAN TO MERGE THAT? I BELIEVE IT ENDS IN TWO YEARS.
BUT THAT AS INVESTORS, THEY'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF GIVING TO THE COMMUNITY.
THE QUESTION I HAVE IS THAT, IS THAT GONNA CONTINUE? SURE.
I I WOULDN'T, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE MISSION OF CITIZENS BANK, I WOULD SAY ABSOLUTELY.
SPECIFICALLY MY CONCERN WOULD BE LIKE ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE SMALLER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, MUSEUMS, HISTORICAL STUDIES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, BECAUSE IT'S, I KNOW EVERYONE HAS A TENDENCY TO GIVE TO LIKE, THE REALLY BIG ORGANIZATIONS, BUT IT'S A LITTLE ONE WHO REALLY SUFFER THE MOST AND MAYBE HAVE LIKE TWO OR THREE EMPLOYEES.
AND SO THAT'S THE INFORMATION THAT I REALLY WANT TO KNOW.
AND AS INVESTORS, I KNOW THEY WERE EXCELLENT.
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TO MAKE SURE THE CITIZENS CONTINUES THAT AND THAT THEY KNOW THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT, AT LEAST TO ME.WE CAN DEFINITELY BRING THAT BACK TO THE BOARD TEAM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO AS FOLLOW UP ITEMS, WE'D LIKE FOR YOU TO COME BACK TO US AND GIVE US HOW THAT $520,000 WAS ALLOCATED.
I HAVE TO TELL YOU VERY DIRECTLY, THAT GRANT NUMBER NOT BEING HERE, I ALMOST STOPPED THE PRESENTATION AND SAID, YOU GOTTA COME BACK.
ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I'M REALLY CONCERNED.
WHY DID YOU GUYS NOT MAKE ANY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS? ESTES COUNTY IS HOT.
YOU CAN'T DRIVE DOWN THE STREET WITHOUT SEEING BUILDING HAPPENING SOMEWHERE HERE.
AND WE HAVE A PLETHORA OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
HOW DID YOU GUYS NOT MAKE ANY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS? I CAN GET FOLLOW UP PLEASE.
SO YOU OWE US A FOLLOW UP ON WHY THERE ARE NO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS, UM, HOW THAT $520,000 WAS ALLOCATED FOR THE, THROUGHOUT THOSE 28 GRANTS.
WE ALSO WANTED TO KNOW HOW DO PEOPLE FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR GRANTS? YOUR WEBSITE, UH, ISN'T REAL USER FRIENDLY FOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW TO APPLY FOR A GRANT THROUGH YOUR ORGANIZATION.
SO HOW DO THE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR GRANTS? HOW DO THE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY LENDING THAT'S AVAILABLE? HOW IS THAT INFORMATION DISSEMINATED? WHO IS BOOTS ON THE GROUND THAT HITS THE COMMUNITY UP, THAT GO TO THE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS? WHO IS THAT PERSON? I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT PERSON IS SOMEPLACE ELSE TONIGHT.
YEAH, THEY'RE IN A, UH, A GALA TONIGHT FOR NOT
SO BEFORE YOU LEAVE, PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION TO ADAM.
HE'S IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM AND WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR THIS FOLLOW UP AS WELL AS WHAT WAS THE NUMERIC VALUE OF THE NUMBER OF LOANS THAT YOU GAVE OUT, THAT YOU REFERRED TO ON PAGE TWO? WHAT WAS THAT? TOTAL, TOTAL, UM, LOAN AMOUNT.
I, I WANNA NOTE THOUGH, ALTHOUGH I'M BEATING YOU UP, I WANNA NOTE DOLLAR DOLLARS OR DOLLAR DOLLAR RISE.
I WANNA NOTE FOR THE RECORD FOR YOU THAT I DO LOVE THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION INVESTED A HUNDRED PLUS HOURS IN, UM, COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERING.
YOU SO FAR ARE THE ONLY ORGANIZATION THAT REFERENCED THAT, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
WE WANNA SEE YOUR FINANCIAL GIVEN, BUT YOUR SWEAT EQUITY EQUALLY HELPED AND IS EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT AND VITAL TO OUR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR FOLLOW UP.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING OUT.
I'M CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER OF CARNEY BANK.
I RUN THE, UH, CNI LENDING DIVISION OF THE BANK, COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL LENDING.
HELLO, MY NAME'S JACK CANTASIA.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT BANKING.
PLEASE BEGIN YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE LOANS THAT YOU'VE ISSUED, SMALL BUSINESS LENDING, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS AND GRANTS THAT YOU'VE ISSUED IN YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR, UM, CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGES AND FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS.
UM, KEARNEY BANK, UM, IS A BANK SERVING 30 43 COMMUNITIES IN NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK.
AND WE HAVE TWO BRANCHES IN ESSEX COUNTY.
UM, IN 2023, WE ARE ORIGINATED 41 HOME MORTGAGE LOANS IN ESSEX COUNTY, OF WHICH SIX OF THOSE WERE IN LMI CENSUS TRACTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS LENDING.
WE HAD 42 SMALL BUSINESS LOANS IN ESSEX COUNTY, OF WHICH ONE WAS LOCATED IN A LOW TO MODERATE INCOME CENSUS TRACT
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FIVE WERE MADE TO BUSINESSES WITH REVENUES OF A MILLION OR LESS AND 11 THAT HAD LOAN AMOUNTS OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND OR LESS FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING.WE DID THREE LOANS IN ESSEX COUNTY, HOWEVER, THEY DID NOT MEET THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE KEARNEY BANK FOUNDATION, WE SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY BY PROFANITY, FINANCIAL GRANTS THAT FOCUS ON EDUCATION, HOUSING, COMMUNITY, BETTERMENT, AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
IN 2023, WE DONATED 213,500 TO 12 ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE EITHER LOCATED IN ESSEX COUNTY OR BENEFITED ESSEX COUNTY.
SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR JEWISH WOMEN JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NEW JERSEY AND TURNING POINT COMMUNITY SERVICES.
THE PRESENTATION CONTAINS THE ENTIRE LIST OF THE ORGANIZATIONS.
WE OFFER A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER PROGRAM THAT IS SPECIFICALLY GEARED TO LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND MAJORITY MINORITY NEIGHBORHOODS FOR A FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FORECLOSURES IN ESSEX COUNTY OR ANY REO PROPERTIES.
AND TO HELP BORROWERS REMAIN IN THEIR HOMES, WE OFFER A LOSS MITIGATION PROGRAM.
UM, THAT'S THE MAJORITY FOR GRANTS AND, UH, LOANS.
I COULD ALSO GO INTO OUR INVESTMENTS IF YOU'D LIKE AND OUR SERVICES.
WOULD THAT BE OKAY? THANK YOU.
UH, WE HAVE, UM, THREE CRA QUALIFIED INVESTMENTS WITH THREE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
THEY SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING INITIATIVES IN ESSEX COUNTY, PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR SENIOR HOUSING RESIDENTS BY PREVENTING CRIME AND ENSURING A SAFE LIVING ENVIRONMENT.
THAT'S THE, UH, THAT ORGANIZATION IS CALLED CRA PARTNERS, ALSO KNOWN AS SENIOR HOUSING CRIME STOPPERS.
AND ALSO WE PROVIDE INNOVATIVE FINANCING SOLUTIONS AND ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SMALL BUSINESSES, EDUCATION, AND OTHER COMMUNITY ASSETS.
WE ALSO HAVE VARIOUS COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT WE PUT OUT, PRIMARILY RELATED TO, UM, FIRST OUR FIRST TIME HOME BUYER PROGRAM AND FINANCIAL LITERACY.
UM, AND THANK YOU VICE PRESIDENT COOPER FOR THAT.
I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR DECISION MAKING PROCESS FOR HOW YOU SET YOUR GOALS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THE FRAMING INCLUDED, AND EVEN IN YOUR PRESENTATION, THERE'S GOALS FROM COMMUNITY LENDING, UH, TO HOME BUYER SUPPORT, MORTGAGE SUPPORT, ET CETERA.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE COMMUNITY INFORMED PRACTICES YOU ALL HAVE IN PLACE TO SET THOSE GOALS? I PRIMARILY SET THE GOALS MYSELF, BUT THROUGH OUR ORGANIZATION, WE DO HAVE, UM, UM, I GUESS LIKE A, A STANDARD TO WHERE WE EXPECT OUR, UM, BRANCH PERSONNEL, LENDERS AND STUFF TO GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO CONDUCT, UM, EDUCATION, UM, OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
'CAUSE 'CAUSE WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE MAKING SURE THAT THE GOALS THAT WE SET, WHICH BY THE WAY, YOU GUYS ARE DOING INCREDIBLE WORK, RIGHT? SO THIS IS NO KIND OF, UH, INDICTMENT AGAINST THAT MM-HMM
BUT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING WORK THAT'S INFORMED BY WHO THOSE WE SERVE ARE SAYING THEY NEED? UM, AND SO TO ANY EXTENT THAT THERE ARE PRACTICES IN PLACE, UH, MAYBE COMMUNITY FORUMS, MAYBE SURVEYS, MAYBE YOU'RE SAYING, RIGHT.
AND THIS IS A VALID RESPONSE TOO, THAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY, UH, OFFICERS WHO ARE TALKING TO FOLKS AND HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND FORM THE GOALS THAT YOU GUYS SET FOR HOW MANY NUMBER OF GRANTS OR X AMOUNT.
I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE PRACTICES IN PLACE FOR THAT WORK.
SO OUR, OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH IS PRIMARILY FOR, FOR ON THE LENDING SIDE IS HANDLED BY OUR FAIR LENDING OFFICER.
SHE'S NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY TO SPEAK ON THAT, BUT SHE DOES SET UP, UM, DIFFERENT EVENTS MM-HMM
WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GO? SURE.
STATE YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.
SYLVIA MARINO, TOPLEY, CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER.
SO I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF, UM, JACKIE GIBBS, WHO IS OUR FIRM LENDING OFFICER.
SO SHE'S THE ONE WHO SETS THE GOALS AND GOES INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UNFORTUNATELY SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT, BUT SHE PROVIDED A LIST OF THE EVENTS THAT SHE'S DONE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
SOME OF THEM ARE A HISPANIC REAL ESTATE EVENT THAT SUPPORTED IN NEWARK AND FEBRUARY OF 2024.
UH, UH, UH, READ ACROSS EVENT THAT WAS LOCATED IN EAST ORANGE.
UH, THERE WAS A MEETING WITH OPTION ONE REALTY LOCATED IN NEWARK IN MARCH OF 2024.
THEY DISCUSSED THE NEW BUSINESS
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OPPORTUNITIES WITH A BROKER.THERE WAS A DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANT PROGRAM IN OTHER PARTNERSHIPS, UH, WITH, UM, IT SAYS 11 1 1 1 MULBERRY STREET IN NEWARK, LANDMARK INITIATIVE IN MARCH OF 2024.
UH, THE HARRISON BRANCH LOCATED, UM, THE CARNEY HARRISON BRANCH LOCATED IN 5 34 HARRISON AVENUE.
HAD A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER EVENT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER FIRST TIME HOME BUYER EVENT FOR THE CITY, THE CITY OF ORANGE.
UM, THE KICKOFF WAS GIVEN BY THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ORANGE.
THERE WAS A NEWARK LANDMARK AND URBAN LEAGUE IN ESSEX COUNTY THAT WAS IN MUL VARIOUS STREET.
THERE WAS ALSO ANOTHER CITY OF NEWARK HOME BUYER SEMINAR IN EXPO AT THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH AND SPRINGFIELD AVENUE IN NEWARK.
UM, THERE'S ALSO, UM, A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER EVENT, THE NEWARK IRON BANK COMMUNITY CENTER THAT WAS PROVIDED IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UM, WITH NO BANK, AND THEY HAD SOME INTERPRETERS.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT SHE HAD, UH, CONDUCTED THROUGHOUT.
UH, DO YOU OFFER GRANTS ONLY ON THE FOUNDATION SIDE? THAT'S NOT DONE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
WE DO HAVE SCHOLAR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.
WE DO HAVE, UM, VARIOUS SCHOLARSHIPS THAT WE DO FROM ON THE BANK SIDE, NOT THE FOUNDATION SIDE THAT GOES TO VARIOUS SCHOOLS.
UM, FOR, WELL, THEY'RE REALLY JUST SCHOLARSHIPS AND THEY'RE SMALL AMOUNTS FOR MANY DIFFERENT, MANY DIFFERENT REASONS.
UH, ON THE FOUNDATION SIDE, I SEE THAT THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING YOUR FOUNDATION GRANT GUIDELINES.
IS THAT CORRECT? ON THE WEBSITE, WE ARE CHANGE, WE CHANGED THE PROCESS OF HOW TO APPLY FOR A GRANT.
WE'RE SWITCHING OVER TO A NEW SYSTEM.
YOUR, YOUR PROCESS IS THE, ARE THE PILLARS THAT STILL THE SAME EDUCATION, HOUSING, COMMUNITY, BETTERMENT, AND QUALITY WORK? THAT IS CORRECT.
BECAUSE IT, I THINK IT REFLECTS VERY WELL ON LIKE A CROSS SECTION IN SOCIETY.
YOU KNOW, ARTS AND CULTURE IS MY BIG THING, SO TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
AND THEY USUALLY GET OMITTED IN A LOT.
SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU'RE, UH, KEEPING 'EM THERE.
UH, CAN YOU QUALIFY HOW MANY GRANTS THE FOUNDATION GIVES OUT IN A YEAR? GIVE OR TAKE? I MEAN, IS IT A HUNDRED THOUSAND, 500,000 OR, I, IT'S DEFINITELY OVER 500,000.
I BELIEVE LAST YEAR, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WAS ABOUT 750 TO VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
AND, UH, WOULD YOU KNOW HOW MANY IN ESSEX COUNTY CUT? THE ESSEX COUNTY ONES I HAVE ARE, UM, I'LL TELL YOU HOW MANY THEY WERE.
THERE WAS 12 ORGANIZATIONS FOR 213,000.
WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATIONS WERE THERE? LEMME GET, YOU HONOR, IS THAT THE LIST THAT'S INSIDE THIS REPORT HERE? YES, IT IS.
AND WITH THE, ALONG WITH THE DONATION AMOUNT.
SO WE DO, UM, THE VALERIE FUND, JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NEW JERSEY, THE ARC OF ESSEX COUNTY TABLE TO TABLE, NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR JEWISH WOMEN SUMMIT SPEECH SCHOOL CENTER FOR HOPE AND SAFETY.
WE ALSO DID OCEANS HARBOR HOUSE DIABETES FOUNDATION, AND THEN NEW JERSEY COMMUNITY CAPITAL.
IT WOULD GREAT TO HAVE AN ARTS AND CULTURE ONE IN THERE TOO, IF YOU CAN ENCOURAGE THAT AS WELL.
BUT OVERALL, I THINK YOUR FOUNDATION DOES A GOOD THING.
YOU ONLY HAVE TWO BRANCHES IN ESSEX COUNTY? THAT'S CORRECT.
HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE BEYOND ESSEX COUNTY? WE HAVE 43 TOTAL.
ARE YOU LOOKING TO EXPAND FURTHER INTO ESSEX COUNTY OR WE DON'T KNOW
I DON'T KNOW THAT INFORMATION.
THAT'S OUT OF MY, UH, I GET OUTTA MY DEBT FUNCTION.
I HAVE TO, UM, TELL YOU THAT I REALLY LIKED YOUR REPORT.
IT WAS CLEAR, IT WAS VERY EASY TO READ, AND I REALLY LOVED THAT YOU PROVIDED THE LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU PROVIDED FUNDING TO.
I AGREE WITH OUR COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT, SOME ARTS AND CULTURE WOULD BE NICE TO SEE IT MIXED UP SOME, BUT I KNOW YOU GUYS DON'T REPRESENT THAT ARM.
SO, UM, THE GRANTS THAT'S LISTED IN HERE, WHERE THEY, THE DISPERSED THROUGH YOUR FOUNDATION OR THROUGH THE BANK? I, I COULDN'T HEAR YOU THROUGH THE FOUNDATION.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, UM, HOW WAS THE GIVING DONE? IS IT ALL POSTED ON YOUR WEBSITE AND THE RESPONSES THAT YOU GAVE US ON PAGE TWO? CAN YOU FOLLOW UP WITH THE TOTAL LIST? UM, WITH THE NUMERIC TOTAL OF THE LOANS WERE GIVEN, YOU GAVE US PERCENTAGES AND, AND A NUMBER, LIKE 41 LOANS WERE ISSUED.
HOW, WHAT'S THAT TOTAL NUMBER THAT, THAT YOU GAVE OUT? THE ONLY AREA THAT I'M DISAPPOINTED WITH IS THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING.
SES COUNTY HAS A WHOLE LOT OF BUILDING HAPPENING.
IS YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOAN OFFICER HERE?
[00:55:02]
NO, THIS IS, MAY I TAKE THIS OUT? I HAVE TO ADJUST FOR MY HEIGHT.SO, UH, WE DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ON THE, ON THE BUSINESS SIDE.
WE HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY EXPRESS LENDING PROGRAM, WHICH IS, UM, A PROGRAM FOR YOUR MAIN STREET TYPE BUSINESSES.
UH, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT PROGRAM ARE SIMPLY TWO YEARS TAX RETURNS AND A SIMPLE THREE TO FOUR PAGE APPLICATION.
THOSE ARE UNSECURED LOANS, PRIMARILY DRIVEN ON CREDIT SCORE, AND THEY GO UP TO A LOAN AMOUNT IN THE AGGREGATE OF $250,000 FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
SO IF I WAS THE URBAN LEAGUE WHO WAS LOOKING TO BUILD, UM, A NEW PROJECT, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, YOU DON'T DO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING.
IF I NEEDED, UH, THE CONSTRUCTION FINANCE PART DONE, WE OFFER, UH, STRAIGHT COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION LOANS, BUT, UH, NOT IN SMALLER AMOUNTS THAT WOULD QUALIFY UNDER THE PROGRAM THAT I JUST REFERENCED.
WE DON'T DO SMALLER TYPE CONSTRUCTION FOR, WHETHER IT BE CONVENTIONAL OR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES.
WE JUST DON'T, THAT'S NOT PART OF OUR POLICY RIGHT NOW AS AN INSTITUTION.
SO THAT'S SOME FEEDBACK THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU GUYS TO TAKE BACK TO SEE, WE HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS HERE THAT DO A LOT OF, UM, BUILDING AND SOMETIMES THEY DO, UM, PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS WHERE A NONPROFIT ARM A LINK UP WITH A FOR-PROFIT PARTNER BECAUSE THEY'LL GET TAX CREDITS AND SOME OTHER THINGS, AND THEN THEY NEED A PERSON, AN ENTITY TO FINANCE THAT DEAL FOR THEM UNTIL IT'S ALL DONE, THEN YOU TAKE IT OUT.
SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S A BIG AREA.
A LOT OF THE BUILDING THAT YOU SEE, SOMETIMES IT'S A PARTNERSHIP AND SOMETIMES IT'S LED BY THE COMMUNITY BASED PARTNER.
SO THEN YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON A GOOD SEGMENT OF SOME OF THE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY THAT YOU'RE SEEING TAKING PLACE HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY.
IF YOU WOULD ALLOW ME TO CLARIFY, WE CERTAINLY, UH, DO, UH, OFFER THESE LOAN PROGRAMS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
SO WE DO NOT PRECLUDE THEM, UH, FROM ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE DO OFFER.
SO, WHOSE BOOTS ON THE GROUND OUT DOOR KNOCKING, TALKING, TALKING TO THESE ORGANIZATIONS ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DO? UH, WE HAVE RETAIL BRANCH MEMBERS WITHIN ESSEX COUNTY, AND WE ALSO HAVE COMMERCIAL LOAN OFFICERS, UH, WITHIN ESSEX COUNTY THAT, THAT COVER THE FOOTPRINT.
DO ANY OF YOUR, UM, STAFF MEMBERS SIT ON ANY OF THE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS' BOARDS? I'M SURE WE DO, BUT I DO NOT KNOW PRECISELY OR HAVE THAT INFORMATION AT HAND.
CAN YOU GET THAT BACK TO US PLEASE? I'M SURE WE CAN.
COMMISSIONERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO.
IS THERE AN ADDITIONAL COMMENT ON YOU'RE, YOU'RE FINE? SURE.
CARNEY BANK, I BELIEVE THE GREATER, GREATER LIFE IS LOCATED IN ESSEX COUNTY AND JACKIE GIBBS, OUR FAIR LENDING OFFICER IS ON THE BOARD OF THAT.
I AM ALSO ON THE BOARD OF THE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, UM, OF NEW J OF CENTRAL.
I'M ON THE CENTRAL BOARD FOR, FOR THAT.
AND, UM, UH, OUR PRESIDENT OF THE BANK IS ON THE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE NORTHERN, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A COUPLE LEVELS OF, OF BOARD MEMBERS WITH JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT.
HE'S ON THE, ON THE ONE AND I AM ON THE OTHER.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, ONE OTHER MEMBER OF THE BANK THAT'S ON THE BOARD OF THE NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS.
YOU'RE, I APPRECIATE THAT RESPONSE.
I'M GONNA SAY THAT I THINK YOU GUYS DID VERY WELL, ESPECIALLY TO ONLY HAVE TWO, TWO BRANCHES.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU NEXT YEAR AND HOPEFULLY THERE'LL BE MORE ARTS AND CULTURE AS A PART OF THE GRANT MAKING ORGANIZATIONS.
DON'T, OH NO, DON'T MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE.
WE ARE GETTING READY TO JUMP RIGHT INTO YOUR PRESENTATION,
SO PLEASE, UM, COME UP TO THE MIC AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
[01:00:01]
INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM IF YOU WANT, OR THEY COULD COME UP.AND WHEN THEY COME TO TALK, UM, INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
WE'D LIKE FOR YOU TO BEGIN BY GIVING US A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF YOUR LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES, TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, THE GRANTS THAT YOU'VE ISSUED, YOUR OVERALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, AND ANY OTHER LENDING ACTIVITIES THAT YOU'VE DONE IN LMI AREAS HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY.
UH, SO FIRST OF ALL, MY NAME IS TANYA LABELLE.
I'M A GOVERNMENT BANKING RELATIONSHIP MANAGER WITH TD BANK.
I'VE BEEN WITH THE BANK FOR 20 YEARS.
AND ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE TD BANK TEAM HERE WITH YOU TODAY, WE'D LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE FOR INVITING US ONCE AGAIN TO TELL YOU ABOUT OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE GREAT COUNTY OF ESSEX.
AS A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, TD HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN SUPPORTING OUR CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITIES THROUGH THESE TIMES, WHILE CONTRIBUTING TO EFFORTS TO BUILD A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE FUTURE.
IN ADVANCING ON THE BANK'S SUSTAINABILITY GOALS AND ROLE AS A CORPORATE CITIZEN, TD CONTINUED TO DEEPEN ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC INCLUSION, TO GUIDE EFFORTS AND SUPPORT PROGRESS TOWARD TD PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC INCLUSION.
TD DISCLOSED FIVE NEW TARGETS UNDER FINANCIAL ACCESS.
TD HAS SET US AND CANADIAN SMALL BUSINESS LENDING TARGETS AND A NORTH AMERICAN FINANCIAL EDUCATION TARGET.
THE BANK HAS SET A NORTH AMERICAN AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCING TARGET, AND A US HOME LENDING TARGET.
THE TWO US TARGETS COME FROM THE RECENTLY LAUNCHED COMMUNITY IMPACT PLAN THAT WE'LL DESCRIBE TO YOU LATER IN THIS, UH, PRESENTATION.
NOW, BEFORE I HAND THE MIC OVER TO OUR NEWLY CROWNED HEAD OF GOVERNMENT BANKING, UH, CHERYL GRIFFITH, ALLOW ME TO SAY THAT THE BEST IN US STARTS WITH YOU.
IT'S YOUR FEEDBACK FEEDBACK IS A GIFT.
IT'S CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU WHO INSPIRE US TO DO WHAT WE DO.
AND ACROSS THE BOARD, TDS COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY AND INCLUSION FLOWS FROM ITS PURPOSE TO ENRICH THE LIVES OF ITS CUSTOMERS, COMMUNITIES, AND COLLEAGUES.
AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, CHERYL GRIFFITH, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR INVITING US HERE TODAY.
AND I AM THE HEAD OF GOVERNMENT BANKING FOR TD, BUT ALSO I'M THE RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR THE COUNTY OF ESSEX.
I DO WANNA GO ON RECORD TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE COUNTY OF ESSEX FINANCE TEAM IS NOTHING SHORT OF SPECTACULAR.
WE FEEL, I FEEL THEY'RE ONE OF THE BEST IN THE STATE, AND WE THANK THEM FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP EVERY DAY AS WE WORK SO CLOSELY WITH THEM.
NOW, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS INTRODUCE OUR TEAM TO YOU.
AND, EXCUSE ME, I DO HAVE TO PUT ON MY CHEATERS
AND AT THE MIC WAS TANYA LAME.
SHE IS OUR PRESTIGIOUS GOVERNMENT BANKER.
WE HAVE JOHN BARBER, OUR SENIOR REGIONAL GIVING MANAGER, CORPORATE CITIZEN.
JOHN, THANK YOU FOR RAISING YOUR HAND.
WE HAVE MARIA BURNELL, AND SHE'S THE REGIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER.
WE HAVE MARCUS GONZALES IN THE BACK THERE, AND HE'S VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE OR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MYSELF.
AND WE HAVE RONELLE MC MCDANIEL AND RONELLE JUST CAME WITH US.
SHE'S BEEN WITH US FOR A LONG TIME, ALL OVER THE BANK.
AND NOW SHE MANAGES THE MULBERRY STORE.
AND WE HAVE MARTIN OTLEY, WHO IS OUR MARKET PRESIDENT FOR THE AREA.
WE ALSO HAVE PATRICK NICHOLSON, WHO IS, YOU'LL HEAR FROM THIS GENTLEMAN TODAY.
HE'S OUR COMMUNITY, UH, MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER.
WE HAVE MANUEL PAYAN, AND MANNY IS OUR STORE MANAGER AT OUR MARKET STREET BRANCH.
WE IS SHELLY SILVA, THE HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH, METRO, PA, NEW JERSEY THAT IS THIS METRO.
AND DOUG IS THE SVP FOR COMMERCIAL LENDING FOR ESSEX.
SO WE BOUGHT THE A TEAM TODAY.
AND NOW WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS I'M GONNA HAND THE MIC BACK OVER TO OUR MC, AND THAT'S TANYA LAMEL.
AND, UH, I'M GOING TO ASK THAT MR. JOHN BARBER, WHO, UH, YOU HEARD WAS THE, UH, VICE PRESIDENT OF, UH, COMMUNITY GIVING.
AND HE'LL TALK TO YOU MORE ABOUT OUR, UM, FOUNDATION AND, UH, AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, LIKE TY SAID, I'M JOHN BARBER.
I'M THE SENIOR REGIONAL GIVING MANAGER FOR TD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
UM, I'VE BEEN WITH THE BANK FOR TWO YEARS AND ONE MONTH COME TO 14.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT AS A PERSON THAT ACTUALLY HAD A BACKGROUND IN DEVELOPMENT AND WORKING WITH AS A SMALL NONPROFITS ORGANIZATION, UM, I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE JOB THAT THE TD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TRIES TO DO AND THE COMMITMENT WE HAVE TO OUR SMALL ORGANIZATIONS AND OUR NONPROFITS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY IS THAT OVER SINCE 2002, WE'VE GIVEN ABOUT $318 MILLION IN DONATIONS, UM, AND CONTRIBU AND CONTRIBUTIONS ACROSS OUR FOOTPRINT, THE TD FOOTPRINT IN 2024 HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY, WE'VE GIVEN THE 17 GRANTS OUT WORTH $510,000 THAT WERE AWARDED IN THIS COUNTY.
[01:05:01]
THOSE GRANTS WERE AWARDED ACROSS DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT, WHAT WE CALL OUR FUNDING DRIVERS.OUR FUNDING DRIVERS IS OUR TD RATED COMMITMENT.
AND THAT INCLUDES BETTER HEALTH, IS ONE OF THE INITIATIVES.
CONNECTED COMMUNITIES BEING ONE OF BETTER HEALTH.
I'M GONNA SAY BETTER HEALTH FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR INITIATIVES ARE.
THINK ACCESS TO CARE FOR, UH, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS.
I LIKE TO THINK OF THAT AS OUR ARTS.
AND FINANCIAL SECURITY, OF COURSE, IS FINANCE, EARLY LEARNING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, FINANCIAL LITERACY, AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEN LASTLY WOULD BE VIBRANT PLANET, WHICH IS OUR ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES.
SO THAT'S LOW, LOW CARBON ECONOMY JOBS, AND ALSO, UH, TRAININGS IN THOSE JOBS.
AND ALSO COMMITMENT TO LIKE THE GREEN AND GREEN SPACES, URBAN FARMS, UH, TREE PLANTING, THAT TYPE OF THING.
UM, I HAVE A LISTING OF SOME OF OUR GRANTS THAT WERE, SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE AWARDED.
UM, I AT LIBERTY, I CAN GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF THE NAMES AND TALK ABOUT THESE ARE SOME OF OUR PARTNERS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, STARTING WITH CLINTON HILL COMMUNITY ACTION, COMMUNITY FOOD BANK IN NEW JERSEY.
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NEW JERSEY.
JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICE OF METRO WEST NEW JERSEY, CITIZENS ACTIONS EDUCATION FUND, NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS AND GPAC, NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, NEWARK ALLIANCE, NEWARK'S ARTS COUNCIL, RISING TIDE CAPITAL, SIERRA HOUSE SUCCEED TOGETHER.
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEWARK, MERCER HOUSE, URBAN LEAGUE OF ES, ESSEX COUNTY AND WOMEN'S CENTER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CORPS.
AND IN OUR CURRENT, THAT WAS IN THE LAST YEAR, THE IN IN POWER INCORPORATED IS ONE OF OUR NEWER GRANTS TO BE AWARDED.
YOU KNOW, WE REALLY REALIZED THAT NONPROFITS SORT THE BACKBONE OF OUR COMMUNITIES, UH, PROVIDING CENTRAL SERVICES LIKE JOB TRAINING, ARTS PROGRAMS, HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
WE OFFER, UH, ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS, GRANTS FOR TRAINING TALENT TOOLS AND TACTICS TO FURTHER HELP THEIR PROGRAMS SUCCEED.
WE CALL THOSE OUR CAPACITY, CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.
SO WE OFFER CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS THAT WE ALSO OFFER, UH, JOB TRAINING, DR.
SO I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT HOW WE INCREASED OUR OUTREACH OVER THE LAST YEAR SINCE GETTING YOUR FEEDBACK, IF, UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I JUST SAID, OH NO, CONTINUE, PLEASE CONTINUE ON.
SO, TALKING ABOUT THOSE CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS THAT I JUST MENTIONED, ONLY REQUIRE ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IS, ONE, YOU BEING NON-PROFIT.
TWO, THAT YOU HAVE UNDER 200, UH, YOU HAVEN'T RECEIVED OVER $200,000 FROM TD BANK AND THAT YOUR OPERATING BUDGET IS BELOW 2 MILLION.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH.
CAPACITY, LIKE I SAID, TACTICS, TALENT AND TOOLS OVER THE MEASUREMENTS.
THESE ARE THE GOALS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO REACH.
TACTICS, THINK INVESTMENTS IS STRATEGY.
THAT CAN INCLUDE PROGRAM DESIGN, UH, IMPLEMENTATION CREATION, OR EXPANSION OF A STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH WE KNOW A LOT OF THE SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS ARE REQUESTING.
AND, UH, SUCCESSION PLANNING WHEN THE LEADERS ARE LEAVING THE ORGANIZATION.
TACTICS ARE INVESTMENTS, I'M SORRY, TALENT IS INVESTMENTS IN THE PEOPLE THAT CAN INCLUDE HIRING NEW STAFF, UM, TRAINING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OR SKILL DEVELOPMENT FOR EXISTING STAFF OR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR, UH, BOARD MEMBERS.
AND IN TOOLS IS INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURES THAT COULD INCLUDE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, PROGRAM EVALUATION TOOLS, PROGRAM SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS, OTHER CAPITAL PURCHASES.
AND WHEN I SAY CAPITAL, NOT MEANING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OR RENOVATIONS OR TEARING DOWN WALLS, BUT CAPITAL MEANING, UH, CAPITAL PURCHASES, MEANING EQUIPMENT.
UM, THE BUDGET FOR THOSE GRANTS.
FOR THE COMP CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS, THE AWARDS CAN GO FROM 25,000 TO 150,000.
IT'S ONLY AS, IT'S ONLY, UH, OFFERED TWICE A YEAR, WHICH IS JUNE AND DECEMBER.
THE REGIONAL GRANTS I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, WE DO OUR CYCLES EVERY OTHER MONTH.
THE GRANT AWARDS RANGE FROM $10,000 NOW, WHEREAS LAST YEAR WAS 5,000.
WE'RE STARTING AT 10 NOW, AND THEY CAN RANGE AS HIGH AS 30,000.
ONCE WE HAVE A RELATIONSHIP, WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS WORK AND SEE THE PROGRAMS WORK.
ORGANIZATIONS DO AN IMPACT REPORT.
WE REVIEW THEM AND WE TRY TO GET EXTRA MONEY WHERE WE CAN, WHERE SOMETIMES THEIR ORGANIZATIONS THAT FALL OFF THE A BEATEN PATH, THEY LOSE LEADERSHIP.
THEY, THEY CHANGE, UH, THEIR PROGRAM STRUCTURE.
AND WE GO AHEAD AND WE AWARD THAT MONEY TO ANOTHER NEEDY ORGANIZATION.
ANOTHER PROGRAM, THE NONPROFIT TRAINING RESOURCE FUND IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
IT COMES OUTTA THAT CAPACITY BUILDING FUND.
ALSO, IT'S AVAILABLE FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO REQUEST FUND FOR SPECIFIC TRAININGS, INCREASE TO INCREASE THEIR EMPLOYEES CAPACITIES AND SKILL SETS.
USUALLY THAT AWARD IS LIKE A THOUSAND DOLLARS AND THAT'S ONLY OFFERED, UH, ANNUALLY.
SO BASED ON THE FEEDBACK YOU PROVIDED LAST YEAR, WE INCREASED OUR OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES.
[01:10:01]
IN PERSON VIRTUALLY AND VIRTUALLY TO INFORM NONPROFITS ABOUT ALL RESOURCES PROVIDED BY TD BANK, FROM VOLUNTEERING LOANS, MORTGAGES TO FOUNDATIONAL FUNDING.OUR TEAM IMPLEMENTS WHAT WE CALL THE ONE TD APPROACH.
AND IN SHARING INFORMATION, WE PRESENT OUR TD READY COMMITMENT FUNDING DRIVERS, WHICH I JUST TALKED TO YOU ABOUT.
WE DISCUSS ORGANIZATION PROGRAMS. WE LISTEN TO FIND OUT WHAT THE PROGRAMS ARE, WHO'S THE, UH, TARGETED, WHO'S YOUR TARGET MARKET AND WHAT'S THE OUTCOMES THAT YOU EXPECT.
UM, WE GIVE FEEDBACK ON PROGRAM ALIGNMENT.
I'M NOT AT LIBERTY TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO APPLY FOR, BUT WHAT I DO TELL THEM, IF IT'S AN ALIGNMENT TO OUR FUNDING DRIVERS, THAT'S ONE THING THAT I WILL SAY THAT WITHIN THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THAT.
WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE WASTING THEIR TIME.
I DID DEVELOPMENT, I WROTE THOSE GRANTS SO I KNOW HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES.
SO I'D RATHER TELL YOU FROM THE DOOR, THIS IS NOT ALIGNMENT WITH OUR FOUNDATION.
THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO BE IN ALIGNMENT.
SO WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS BEFORE YOU APPLY.
UM, WE PROVIDE LINKS TO FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
WE SHOW WHERE TO FIND APPLICATION DEADLINES.
AND FINALLY WE WALK THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS OF FUNDING PROCEDURES.
MEANING SOME PEOPLE KNOW AND THEY GET A REJECT LETTER IN THE EMAIL, IN THE MAIL, AND THEY SAY, WELL, YOU REJECTED ME.
BUT WE LET YOU KNOW AHEAD ON, THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CAN FALL INTO PLACE.
WE CAN'T GO BACK AND HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AFTER EACH, EACH APPLICATION CYCLE.
WE'RE IN THE CURRENT GRANT CYCLE RIGHT NOW.
I HAVE 93 GRANTS TO REVIEW FOR THE REGION.
AND EACH PERSON WANTS TO KNOW WHETHER WHY, WHY THEY DID GET OR WHY THEY DIDN'T GET IT.
SO AT THAT TIME, THAT'S WHAT WE HAD THESE DISCUSSIONS PRIOR TO THEIR APPLICATION.
UNDERSTAND, WE DO DO A BLANKET RE WE DO NOT DO BLANKET RECRUITING TO NONPROFITS, BUT ENGAGE, INFORM.
WE ENGAGE AND INFORM WHEN COLLEAGUES INTRODUCE OR ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATION RESEARCH AND CONTACT US.
WE WORK ON, WE GET A LOT OF REFERRALS.
WE ARE REMI, WE'RE MINDFUL OF PROJECTING ANY NARRATIVE THAT TD HAS UNLIMITED PHILANTHROPIC FUNDING RESOURCES WHEN MEETING AS WELL.
ORGANIZATIONS ARE MADE AWARE THAT THERE'S ONE OUR THAT OUR YEAR IN CLOSING IS OCTOBER 31ST.
AND FUNDING IS NOT GUARANTEED YEAR TO YEAR.
UM, WITH RECENT NEWS OF PARTNERS LIKE NJPAC, SINCE I BROUGHT THEM UP, UM, ONE OF OUR BIGGER PARTNERS AND THEM HAVING A NEW FACILITY THAT'S BEING BUILT, BUILT THAT WILL SUPPORT AND COMMU SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING IMMEDIATE SPACE FOR SMALLER, NOT NOT-FOR-PROFITS WHERE THEY CAN CAPITALIZE FROM ADDITIONAL BEN, UH, OUTREACH NJPAC HAS ESTABLISHED LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH MULTICULTURAL, CIVIC PROFESSIONAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH THE ARTS.
AND TD BANK SEES THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE THOSE CONNECTIONS TO ENGAGE THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT COMMUNITY VIA INFO SESSIONS, LIVE AND VIRTUAL LIKE WE'VE BEEN DOING.
BUT REALLY TAKING MORE HANDS-ON APPROACH AND ON REFERRAL BASIS FROM THESE LARGER PARTNERS.
TD BANK OFFERED RESOURCES, POTENTIAL TD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES USING A LIST COMPILED IN 2024 FROM OUR AFFINITY PROGRAMS. DOCUMENTED EXISTING TD REGISTERED NOT-FOR-PROFIT MEMBERS.
AND THIS CAME OFF OF SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE LAST YEAR.
SO 2024, THIS LIST WAS COMPILED.
THE VISION IN 2025 IS TO INTRODUCE NEW PARTNER OUTREACH WITH INTENTION TO EXPAND AND SERVICE MORE NON-FOR-PROFIT, NOT-FOR-PROFITS, IMPACTING SMALL ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT ESSEX COUNTY.
ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT.
I THINK WAS, I WAS ONE OF THOSE VOICES SINCE I'M A NONPROFIT GUY.
THIS WAS VERY THOROUGH, SO I APPRECIATE THAT.
OBVIOUSLY YOU WENT BACK AND DID YOUR HOMEWORK.
I WISH EVERYBODY WOULD DO THAT.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN HERE SEVEN YEARS.
WE STILL HAVE SOME BANKS COMING IN THINKING THE SAME OLD, SAME ONE'S GONNA WORK.
AND IT DOESN'T, I KEEP ASKING THE SAME QUESTIONS.
I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE, BUT I THINK I MAY BE, YOU KNOW, THE ONE WHO'S GOT THAT KIND OF SKIN IN THE GAME.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING ASIDE FROM COMMISSIONER.
UM, SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR DOING, I'M GONNA KNOCK YOU FOR ONE THING.
IS THERE SOMEONE I CAN CONTACT IF I HAVE A PROGRAM OUTTA QUESTION? NEW YORK, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT, NORTHERN NEW JERSEY, WHICH IS BERGEN COUNTY IN PASSAIC COUNTIES.
HEY MAN, WHERE'S ESSEX COUNTY?
CENTRAL, SOUTHERN COASTAL, NEW JERSEY.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS A CENTRAL NEW JERSEY, BUT IT CENTRAL NEW JERSEY.
COULD BE UNDER ESSEX COUNTY COUNTY.
IT COULD BE UNDER ESSEX COUNTY, RIGHT? YEAH.
BUT THAT'S, YOU'RE DOING GREAT CENTRAL.
WE GOT IT IN CENTRAL THOUGH, BUT THANK YOU.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS TRULY A CENTRAL JERSEY.
I'M NOT SURE
THAT'S THE BUT, BUT NO, THANK YOU.
AND ALL KIDDING ASIDE, THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU REALLY TOOK THAT INTO HEART.
[01:15:01]
UH, YOU LISTENED.UM, THE, THE SMALLER NONPROFITS ARE THE ONES WHO REALLY GET MUSCLED OUT.
I MEAN, IT'S GREAT THAT EVERYONE HAS THE REALLY BIG ORGANIZATIONS AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THEM.
MANY COLLEAGUES WORK THERE, VERY GOOD FRIENDS.
UH, THE LITTLE ONES GET MUSCLED OUT BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO AND THREE PEOPLE WORKING IN THIS PLACE.
THEIR BUDGET IS NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE TO $2 MILLION.
WHICH I KNOW IS ON THE SMALLER SIDE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
I KNOW OUR ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY UNDER HALF A MILLION, AND THEY DO PHENOMENAL WORK.
AND THEY'RE COMPRISED OF ALL PART-TIME PEOPLE.
THREE OR FOUR PART-TIME PEOPLE.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING THAT IMPACT HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY.
NOW, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY TOO.
WOULDN'T HURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND STUFF LIKE THAT, BUT THAT'S FINE TUNING.
YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB AND WE APPRECIATE THAT.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, YOUR COMMITMENT TO, UH, THE SMALL BUSINESS, ESPECIALLY THE NONPROFITS, UM, UH, TO, TO, TO HEAR THAT YOUR COMMITMENT TO THESE ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE THE BACKBONE TO, TO OUR COMMUNITY, UM, IS COMMENDABLE.
AND AGAIN, TO YOUR TEAM, UM, YOU CAME PREPARED.
UH, I WISH ALL THE BANKS WOULD COME, UM, AS PREPARED AS YOU HAVE TODAY.
SO I I I REALLY JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE, UM, UH, AND COMMEND YOU ON, ON, ON YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I AM ALSO A TD CUSTOMER,
UM, SO I, ME STOPPING BY AND SAY HELLO.
UM, BUT AGAIN, UM, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO ESSEX COUNTY AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO, TO THE SMALL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE, UM, THEY, THEY'RE, THEY, THEY'RE FEELING LEFT OUT.
AND, UM, UH, IT'S, IT'S VERY GOOD TO SEE THAT, UM, WE HAVE BANKS AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE YOURSELF THAT ARE, THAT ARE EXTENDING THEIR HAND AND, AND, AND BEING INCLUSIVE.
THANK YOU, UH, MADAM VICE PRESIDENT.
AND THANK YOU FOR BOTH THE DEPTH AND THE BREADTH OF THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, IT'S CLEAR THAT YOU GUYS ARE NOT JUST DOING WORK AT HIGH QUANTITY, BUT AT HIGH QUALITY.
AND SO FIRSTLY, ECHOING THE SENTIMENTS OF MY BOARD COLLEAGUES, I TOO ALSO AM A CUSTOMER OF TD BANK AND I, I USE THE MOBILE ONE A LOT.
SO I I HOPEFULLY I'LL BE SEEING SOME FAMILIAR FACES.
UM, MY QUESTION IS AROUND, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S NEXT? YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY, UH, ARE ALREADY DOING REALLY EXTRAORDINARY WORK, AGAIN, AT BOTH DEPTH AND BREADTH, AT QUALITY AND QUANTITY.
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THIS, FOR THIS NEXT YEAR? UM, AND HOW ARE THOSE GOALS INFLUENCED AND, UH, KIND OF SHAPED BY FEEDBACK FROM COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND, AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS? WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
AND I'M, I'M GONNA SAY THAT FROM THE FOUNDATION STANDPOINT, WE'RE LISTENING.
WE, WE MEET ACTIVELY A LOT AND WE TAKE, AND WE TAKE BACK WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM OUR PARTNERS AND OUR MEETING THE NONPROFITS OF SMALL AND LARGE, BUT WHAT THE REAL NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY ARE.
A LOT OF US ARE FROM THESE COMMUNITIES AND WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY DRIVING, LOOKING AT WHAT OUR FUNDING DRIVERS ARE, HOW THIS IS GONNA BE IMPACTFUL TO THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO ONE THING ABOUT TD, AND THIS IS MY OWN THING, IS THAT IT'S BEEN THE PEOPLE'S BANK SINCE I GOT HERE.
AND I ONLY BEEN HERE FOR TWO YEARS.
BUT I REALLY FEEL LIKE I'VE NEVER BEEN A PART OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT REALLY LISTENED TO THE COMMUNITY AS MUCH AS TD DOES.
AND I THINK THAT GOING FORWARD, ONE, YOU START THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH EVERYBODY LOOKS AT DOLLAR AMOUNTS.
AND I'VE SEEN US STRETCH DOLLARS AND TRY TO GIVE MORE.
WE BELIEVE MORE IN GIVING, TAKING THE DOLLARS AND GIVING IT TO MANY THAN INVESTING A LARGE SUM OF MONEY TO PUT A NAME ON SOMETHING.
AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, YEAH, WE HAVE A COUPLE PLACES THAT WE STRATEGICALLY PLACED AND WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT, BUT WE GET A LOT OF OFFERS TO PUT THOSE NAMES ON SOME BIG STADIUMS AND SOME FLOORS AND EVERYTHING.
AND TD HAS SAID, LISTEN, I'D RATHER GIVE IT TO THESE NONPROFITS.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE VISIONS THAT WE COULD, WE KEEP THAT IN OUR HEART.
AND, UM, THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS ON, AGAIN, WE OFFER, WHAT WE DID WAS OFFER THIS CAPACITY BILL GRANT WITH SOMETHING NEW.
THIS WAS JUST LAUNCHED IN 2024.
SO WE STARTED GETTING A LOT OF APP APPLICATIONS ASKING ABOUT OPERATION OPERATING GRANTS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW, WHERE CAN WE GET THE DOLLARS? HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THAT? AND THEN, UM, I THINK LAST THING IS, THE LAST THING IS, IT WAS OPERA GRANTS CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.
AND THEN, UH, AGAIN, JUST LISTEN TO COMMUNITY AND LEMME GET OFF
PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION ON THE RECORD.
UH, MY NAME IS TANYA ELL, UH, GOVERNMENT BANKING RELATIONSHIP MANAGER.
AND I, I STOOD UP BECAUSE JOHN GAVE US A GREAT SEGUE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE COMMUNITY IMPACT PLAN.
AND WITH US TODAY WE HAVE SHELLY SILVA AND SHE'LL GIVE US A LITTLE, UH, BIT MORE INFORMATION
[01:20:01]
AND INSIGHT ON THE ADVISORY BOARD AND THE IMPACT PLAN.I'M SHELLY SILVA AND I'M IN A NEWLY CREATED ROLE.
I'M THE HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH FOR THE BANK, FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA, NEW JERSEY REGION.
AND SO BEFORE I STARTED THIS ROLE, I WAS ACTUALLY THE HEAD OF US CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP.
SO JOHN WORKED ON MY TEAM, UM, THAT STOOD UP MANY OF THOSE PROGRAMS. BUT OUR COMMUNITY IMPACT PLAN AS, AS YOU MAY RECALL, UH, SEVERAL, TWO YEARS AGO, WE WERE GOING TO ENTER INTO A MERGER TO PURCHASE ANOTHER BANK.
UM, BUT WHEN YOU DO A MERGER, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO ENGAGE IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHAT YOU'RE GONNA OPERATE.
SO YOU'RE GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THE MARKETS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO BETTER.
AND SO AS A RESULT OF A BANK MERGER, YOU USUALLY CREATE A COMMUNITY, UH, IMPACT PLAN OR A COMMUNITY, UM, ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MERGER, RIGHT? AND SO, BUT WE HAD DONE ALL THE LEG WORK UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR CEO LEO STALLONE.
WE SAID, WELL, WE'RE NOT GONNA THROW THAT WORK AWAY.
WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY STAND UP A COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD SO WE CAN STAY ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
WHAT'S NEXT? SO WE ACTUALLY HAD OUR FIRST KICKOFF WITH OUR NATIONAL COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD THAT REPRESENTS THE ENTIRE FOOTPRINT IN WHICH WE OPERATE, BUT THEY REPRESENT THE DIVERSE SEGMENTS, UM, FROM HISPANIC, BLACK, UH, HISTORICAL, UNDERREPRESENTED ORGANIZATIONS, WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND I DON'T WANNA LIST ALL THE MEMBERS BECAUSE I'LL MISS SOMEONE, BUT A FEW.
MICHAEL PUGH, WHO LEADS LISC, IS ON OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD.
TANYA MATTHEWS, WHO LEADS THE INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM IS ON OUR BOARD.
UM, AND WE BROUGHT THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE TOGETHER TO REALLY ADVISE US, TELL US WHAT WE'RE DOING, HOW WE'RE DOING, AND WHAT WE CAN DO BETTER.
UM, AND THEN GIVE US CRITICAL AND SOMETIMES TOUGH FEEDBACK TO THE HIGHEST LEADERS OF OUR ORGANIZATION SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO BE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA MEET TWICE A YEAR WITH THIS GROUP.
AND AS A RESULT OF HAVING A NATIONAL COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD, THERE'LL BE REGIONAL COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARDS.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT'S, WE'RE HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY, SO WE WANNA MAKE IT REAL FOR YOU.
SO THERE'LL BE PEOPLE THAT'LL BE BROUGHT TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN THE COMMUNITY AT REAL TIME SO THAT WE CAN TAKE REAL ACTION.
WHEN MY ROLE WAS CREATED, IT IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA TELL MY WHOLE STORY, BUT BEFORE I GOT TO BANKING, I LED AN, UH, A, A NON-TRADITIONAL NONPROFIT, A HOUSING AUTHORITY.
I WAS THE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER FOR THE PHILADELPHIA HOUSING AUTHORITY.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES OF MY COMMUNITY THERE AND HOW WE HAVE TO CONNECT THE DOTS.
TD HAS A WONDERFUL INFRASTRUCTURE, A POWER OF 80,000 EMPLOYEES.
AND WHEN WE BRING ALL OF THEM TOGETHER, THE BEST OF THEM, WE CAN REALLY IMPACT OUR COMMUNITIES IN A MEANINGFUL WAY.
SO I'M EXCITED TO BE IN THIS NEW ROLE.
I'VE BEEN UP HERE SEVERAL TIMES.
UM, I WAS WITH THE GIRL SCOUTS OF THE HEART OF NEW JERSEY LEADERSHIP TEAM LAST WEEK, AS WELL AS WITH THE URBAN LEAGUE.
UM, I WAS A LITTLE DOWN THE STREET FOR JOHN AMOS'S SERVICES WHERE THE COMMUNITY HONORED HIM.
I'M LOVING MY TIME THAT I'M GETTING TO SPEND UP HERE AWAY FROM MY HOME, BUT IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL LEARNING AND I CAN'T WAIT TO CONTINUE TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN THIS COMMUNITY.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW ROLE.
YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A REALLY GOOD, UM, PRESENTATION.
WHAT'S MISSING IN THIS IS THE MORTGAGE PRODUCTS FOR THE FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, THE LOW INCOME FOLKS.
DO YOU HAVE DOWN PAYMENT OR CLOSING COST ASSISTANCE? DO YOU OFFER NON-TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS THAT WILL GIVE A PERCENTAGE HIGHER THAN THAT? 80% LTV? HELLO? HOW, EXCUSE ME.
HI, HOW ARE YOU? I'M PATRICK NICHOLSON, COMMUNITY MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER WITH TD BANK.
UM, AS COMMUNITY MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICERS, WE, WE EXTEND OURSELVES TO THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE THE TOOLS AND THE PRODUCTS TO HELP SERVE THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.
UM, TWO OF THE PRODUCTS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT WE OFFER IS OUR RIGHT STEP IN OUR HOME ACCESS MORTGAGES.
UH, THESE MORTGAGES ARE DESIGNED TO HELP PEOPLE WITH THE LOW MINDED INCOME FAMILIES AND, UM, HOUSEHOLDS.
UM, THE, UH, FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF THESE PRODUCTS THAT ALLOW US TO BETTER SERVE THE COMMUNITY IS, UM, LENDER PAID MI.
SO THE BORROWERS DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THE MORTGAGE INSURANCE, WHICH ALLOWS THEM MORE PURCHASE AND POWER, UH, MINIMUM DOWN PAYMENT'S 3%.
UM, WE WORK WITH THE GRANT AGENCIES.
WE ACCEPT GRANT FUNDS TOWARDS DOWN PAYMENT.
UM, IN A LOT OF CASES, OUR CLIENTS WHO RECEIVE GRANT FUNDS, THEY ONLY HAVE TO COME OUT OF POCKET WITH $500.
THE REQUIREMENT IS ONLY $500 OF THEIR OWN MONEY OUT OF THEIR POCKET.
UH, WE LAYER THE GRANTS, SO WITH THE LOCAL AGENCIES, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, WE CAN LAYER A STATE GRANT WITH A CITY GRANT, WITH A COUNTY GRANT, AND USE ALL OF THOSE GRANT FUNDS TO APPLY TOWARDS THE LOAN PRODUCT WITH THE LOAN PRODUCT THAT WE USE, SO THAT THE, UH, BORROWERS COULD KEEP SOME MONEY IN THEIR POCKET AND GET THE, THE, THE ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED
[01:25:01]
IN ORDER TO HELP THEM GET INTO THEIR FIRST HOME.UH, WE WORK HAND IN HAND WITH THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, SOMETIMES WE'RE REFERRING CLIENTS TO THE NONPROFITS SO THAT THEY CAN HELP WITH OUR BORROWERS.
AND WE ALSO DO, UH, WORKSHOPS, YOU KNOW, TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE CLIENTS THE EDUCATION THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT RECEIVING SO THAT THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, GET INTO THEIR FIRST HOME.
UM, WITH THESE, UH, LMI PRODUCTS, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME PRODUCTS, WE'RE ALSO ALLOWED TO USE THEM, UH, UH, UH, FOR THE, UH, HO HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A LOT OF CLIENTS THAT ARE SECTION EIGHT RENTERS SWITCHING THEIR VOUCHER OVER TO HOUSING CHOICE, USING THIS SAME LOAN PRODUCT TO, UH, GET THEM INTO THEIR FIRST HOME.
WHICH IS WONDERFUL BECAUSE, UM, WHEN BARR DOESN'T HAVE TO PAY MI, IT ALLOWS MORE PURCHASE EMPOWERED, YOU KNOW, AND FOLKS WITH THAT, UH, WITH, WITH, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAVE A, A LIMITED, UH, UH, AMOUNT OF FUNDS.
SO, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO, TO GET BETTER PROP, UH, A BETTER PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, THESE KIND OF PRODUCTS ARE, ARE GOOD TO HELP.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE DESIGNED TO BASICALLY HELP THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
SO, UM, UH, UH, THERE'S, UM, UH, OUR HOME ACCESS PRODUCT, UH, UH, TD, WE PROVIDE A $10,000 LENDER CREDIT, UH, WITH THAT HOME ACCESS PRODUCT.
IF THE PROPERTY LOCATION AND THE BORROW INCOME QUALIFIES.
SO, UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME AS A FOLLOW UP, CAN YOU SEND US THE NUMBER OF MORTGAGES IN LMI AREAS IN ES COUNTY THAT YOU GUYS HAVE ISSUED? UM, AND THE TOTAL, UM, NUMERIC VALUE BROKEN DOWN BY THOSE LMI AREAS THAT WAS NOT IN YOUR, UM, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE IT TO US TONIGHT.
YOU GUYS REALLY TOOK OUR FEEDBACK FROM LAST YEAR.
UH, SO THAT INFORMATION WAS INCLUDED, UH, AS AN ANSWER TO THE SURVEY QUESTIONS.
UM, SO ON PAGE TWO, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THE, OUR YEAH, NO, I DON'T HAVE IT IN, UM, OKAY.
OKAY, SO UNDER LENDING ACTIVITY, UM, SO THE, THE TOTAL, AGAIN, THIS IS BASED OFF OF THE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION FROM OUR HAMAL, WHICH WAS ISSUED BASED OFF OF 2023 DATA.
THAT IS WHAT WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE THAT'S FINE.
SO, UH, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, OF, OF HAMDU OF THE MORTGAGES WAS 1052.
AND I WOULD SAY ABOUT 20, ABOUT 40% WERE IN LMI CENSUS TRACKS.
AND IN TERMS OF THE APPLICANT INCOME, THE, UM, I WOULD SAY ABOUT 11% WERE TO LMI BORROWERS BASED ON THAT HONDA DATA.
AND I ALSO HAVE THE SMALL BUSINESS DATA AS WELL.
AND THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS, DO YOU WANT ME TO QUICKLY COVER THAT AS WELL? SURE.
SO FOR THE, UH, SMALL BUSINESS LENDING, UH, THE, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF LOANS, UH, WAS 897.
UM, ABOUT 44% WERE ISSUED TO SMALL BUSINESSES, WHICH OPERATE OUT OF LMI CENSUS TRACKS ABOUT 95% OF THE LOANS WERE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OR LESS.
AND THEN ABOUT 85% WERE TO TWO BUSINESSES WITH GROSS ANNUAL REVENUE OF 1 MILLION OR UNDER.
AND IN TERMS OF OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING, WE ISSUED, UH, FOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS, UH, THREE, UH, TO ADDRESS AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS AND ONE FOR, UM, COMMUNITY SERVICES.
THE TOTAL OF THESE FOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS WAS, UM, A LITTLE OVER, UH, $20 MILLION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I REALLY WANNA COMMEND YOU AND THANK YOU FOR RECEIVING OUR FEEDBACK FROM LAST YEAR AND IMPLEMENTING IT.
YOUR WRITTEN PRESENTATION AND YOUR PHYSICAL PRESENTATION WAS A LOT BETTER COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, AND THAT MAKES ME REALLY, REALLY HAPPY.
I THINK WE'RE COLLECTIVELY VERY HAPPY, UM, TO SEE THIS, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE WITH YOUR BANK.
YOU GUYS HOLD A LITTLE OVER $80 MILLION,
[01:30:02]
AND I WOULD THINK THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, BUT I HEARD FROM YOUR COMMUNITY, UM, THE PERSON, THE GIVING PERSON THAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING TO DO MORE.SO I'M HOPING TO SEE THAT THAT NUMBER OF GRANTS THAT YOU GAVE TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION IS GOING TO CREEP UP A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, NEXT YEAR FOR ME, ONE OF MY EVALUATION POINTS IS THE AMOUNT OF GIVING, UM, VERSUS THE AMOUNT OF OUR INVESTMENTS IN.
THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT I WILL OFFER IS DIRECTOR CORY, CAN YOU PLEASE LET'S CONNECT THEM TO THE SMALL BUSINESS SIDE OF THINGS HERE AT THE COUNTY.
JULIUS COLT, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, UM, WE HAVE AN OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY, AND HOPEFULLY, UH, WHICHEVER ONE OF YOUR 12 PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE CAN CONNECT WITH OUR DIRECTOR THERE.
AND, UH, HER NAME IS YOU READY? WHO HAS A PENCIL ON PAPER? HER NAME? HER NAME IS RENEE BURGESS, B-U-R-G-E-S-S.
AND HER PHONE NUMBER IS (973) 621-2010.
AND WE ARE TRYING TO DO ONE OF THE THINGS YOU SAID, YOU JUST HAVE HOW MANY LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES? 800, 800 AND SOMETHING.
AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS BRING YOU IN AND TELL PEOPLE SMALL BUSINESSES, HOW TO CREATE A LOAN WITH YOUR BANK OR OTHER INSTITUTIONS.
AND PLUS SEE WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER US IN SMALL BUSINESSES, MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES ALSO.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD THAT PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO HERE WHEN WE GO OUT.
I'M ALSO THE PURCHASING DIRECTOR, SO WHEN WE GO OUT FOR BIDS, WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING SMALL BUSINESSES, MINORITY WOMAN OWNED BUSINESSES INTO THE FOLD.
TANYA LAMEL, GOVERNMENT BANKING RELATIONSHIP MANAGER.
SO A FEW YEARS BACK WE DEVELOPED A NEW ROLE AT THE BANK.
IT'S THE COMMUNITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER WHO ADVOCATES FOR PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS OF MWBE BUSINESSES.
SO MARCUS GONZALEZ, YOU SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT HIM UP FIRST AND EVERYTHING WOULD'VE BEEN GREAT, FOLLOWED BY THE GRANT PERSON.
AND OH, Y'ALL WOULD HAVE A HALO RIGHT NOW.
MARCUS GONZALEZ, COMMUNITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER HERE AT TD BANK.
I'VE BEEN WITH THE BANK FOR A LITTLE OVER 20 YEARS, UH, IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ROLES.
BUT AS MISS LAEL MENTIONED, MY NEWLY ISH FORMED ROLE ALLOWS ME TO BRING WHAT WE CALL THE ONE TD APPROACH DIRECTLY TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT NEED THEM THE MOST.
SO WHETHER IT'S RETAIL, SMALL BUSINESS, COMMERCIAL WEALTH, UH, EVERY ASPECT OF THE BANK THAT'S UNDER THE TD UMBRELLA, MY ROLE IS REALLY TO BRING THOSE SERVICES AND RESOURCES DIRECTLY TO THE COMMUNITY THAT NEEDS THEM.
SO I TOOK RENEE'S INFORMATION DOWN.
I'M DEFINITELY GONNA BE REACHING OUT TO HER.
AND IF I CAN TOUCH ON SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOT TOUCHED ON YET, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S FAIRLY NEW TO THE TD, UH, LIST OF SERVICES IS OUR TD SAFE PROGRAM, WHICH IS A INTERACTIVE, UNIQUELY IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL FRAUD WORKSHOP THAT WE DO FOR CURRENTLY FOR, UH, SENIORS, UH, STUDENTS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
AND IT'S A WORKSHOP THAT WE CONDUCT WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF FRAUD AND REALLY HELP PEOPLE NAVIGATE HOW TO DEAL WITH FRAUD AND HOW TO BE ACUTELY AWARE OF THE DIFFERENT CASES THAT FRAUD CAN BE DEVELOPED AND AND CAN HAPPEN.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DEVELOPING OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 12 MONTHS OR SO.
AND WE HAVE LOGGED OVER 500 PLUS VOLUNTEER HOURS.
WE HAVE 450 PLUS COLLEAGUES THAT ARE TRAINED AND READY TO FACILITATE THE, THE WORKSHOPS.
AND WE WOULD LOVE TO DO MORE OF THOSE WORKSHOPS IN ESS COUNTY AS WELL.
ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES, WE ALL DO COMMUNITY MEETINGS, WE ALL MANEUVER OUT THE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COUNTY OF ESSEX.
SO WE JUST NEED TO CREATE THE SYNERGY.
SO EVERYONE WHO GAVE A PRESENTATION, WHO SPOKE TONIGHT FROM TD, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR CARD WITH ADAM IN THE BACK.
WE'RE GONNA ASK THAT YOU CONNECT WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE.
UM, AND ALSO TO PLEASE SEND US YOUR WORKSHOPS WHEN YOU DO THEM, WHEN YOU HOST THEM.
IF YOU'RE PARTNERING WITH OTHER COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY, BE A PARTNER WITH US THAT WILL HELP TO DISSEMINATE THAT INFORMATION OUT THROUGH OUR NETWORK.
BECAUSE OUR GOAL IS TO GET OUR CONSTITUENTS, OUR BUSINESS OWNERS, OUR RESIDENT, TO CONNECT WITH YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO IMPROVE THEIR BUYING POWER, TO IMPROVE, IMPROVE THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND WE CAN'T DO THAT BY OURSELVES.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO PARTNER WITH YOU TO DISSEMINATE THAT INFORMATION.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT OUR SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOPS, 'CAUSE WE'LL HAVE ONE COMING UP EARLIER PART OF NEXT YEAR, AS WELL AS WHATEVER OTHER COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION OUTREACH THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING.
WE WILL ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO HELP YOU SPREAD THE WORD.
AND IN ADDITION TO THE FRAUD WORKSHOPS, WE DO SPECIALIZE
[01:35:01]
IN, UH, BUILDING A BETTER BUSINESS PLAN, GETTING ACCESS TO CAPITAL.THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE DIFFERENT WORKSHOPS THAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING.
I DO THEM MYSELF DIRECTLY VIRTUAL AND OR IN PERSON.
SO WE'VE DEFINITELY LOVE TO HAVE THAT CONNECTION.
PLEASE REACH OUT FOR OUR DIRECTOR, BURGESS.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE REALLY LOOKING TO HAVE, IT'S A, A BIG GOAL OF THE COMMISSIONER, THE BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION TO SEE HOW WE GROW THE SMALL BUSINESSES MORE SO THAT THEY CAN BE MORE IMPACTFUL HERE IN THE COUNTY.
SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT THIS EVENING.
YOU GUYS GAVE A GREAT PRESENTATION.
UH, ANTONIO DECI, GOVERNMENT BANKING OFFICER FOR CONNECT ONE BANK AND DAVID NUNEZ.
AND DAVID NUNES, UH, BRANCH MANAGER FOR OUR NEWARK OFFICE.
SO PLEASE BEGIN BY GIVING US AN OVERVIEW OF YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, YOUR LENDING ACTIVITY, ESPECIALLY TO SMALL BUSINESSES, MINORITY OR VETERAN, UM, OWNED ORGANIZATIONS, YOUR GRANT MAKING AND YOUR OVERALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AND MORTGAGES ISSUED IN LMI AREAS.
WELL, OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, OVERALL RATING IS SATISFACTORY.
UM, LENDING ACTIVITY IN ESSEX COUNTY.
UM, HOME MORTGAGE LOANS IN ESSEX COUNTY, TOTALING 3 MILLION, UH, A LITTLE OVER 3 MILLION, $3.2 MILLION, UH, WITH 1 MILLION IN, UH, 2023.
AND, UH, TOTALING 2.2 MILLION IN 20 24 18.
SMALL BUSINESS LOANS IS AT ESSEX COUNTY, TOTALING FIVE POINT A LITTLE OVER 5.7 MILLION IN 2023.
UM, AND A LITTLE OVER, UH, OR I'M SORRY, A LITTLE UNDER $3 MILLION IN 2024.
UM, OWNER-OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS LENDING TO LOW AND MODERATE INCOME TRACKS WITHIN CNOB CN B'S ASSESSMENT AREA HAS BEEN AT 16.4% FOR BOTH 2023 AND 2024, UH, 25.15 OF COB UH, CONNECT ONE BANK.
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE IN LOW AND MODERATE INCOME TRACKS WHILE CONNECT ONE BANKS LENDING TO SMALL BUSINESSES IN LOW AND MODERATE INCOME TRACKS IS AT 14.45%.
UM, AND 19.3 0.5 BY DOLLAR AMOUNT, UM, 61 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS IN ESSEX COUNTY FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF 171,000.
AND ALL LOANS ARE ABOVE OUR, ARE ALL LOANS ARE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND AS OF SEPTEMBER 30TH, TWO, 2024, THE CD LOAN TOTAL IN ESSEX COUNTY WAS 4.4 MILLION 780,000 FULLY QUALIFYING FOR CRA PURPOSES.
UM, 34 DONATIONS WERE MADE IN ESSEX COUNTY, TOTALING $97,375 WITH 11 CRA
[01:40:01]
ELIGIBLE FOR 17,126 AND 80.DO $126 80 CENTS WITH FIVE TOTALING $6,100 IN 2023 AND SIX TOTALING 11,000, $26 AND 80 CENTS IN 2024.
UH, WE DO NOT OFFER A PR PRIETARY MORTGAGE PRODUCT FOR LMI BROERS, BUT WE DO HAVE LOWER RATE LOWER RATES AVAILABLE FOR THESE BORROWERS FOR LOANS SOLD IN THE SECONDARY MARKET.
UH, WE DO NOT OFFER A FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS PROGRAM, UH, BUT WE DO HAVE A LARGE MULTI-FAMILY PORTFOLIO THAT OFTEN HAS A RENT ROLL WITH RENT BELOW FMR AS SHOWN BY THE HIGH DOLLAR AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING CD LOANS.
UH, WE DO FOLLOW THE NEW JERSEY FAIR FOR FAIR FORECLOSURE ACT.
WE DON'T EVER ABANDON, HAVE ABANDONED PROPERTIES.
UM, THE BANK DOES NOT HAVE ANY ACTIVE OR PENDING FORECLOSURE MATTERS IN ESSEX COUNTY AND HAS HAD NO FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY IN THE COUNTY FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS.
UH, WE DO NOT OWN ANY REO PROPERTIES IN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX.
UM, AND IF WE DID TAKE A PROPERTY BACK AS AN REO, WE SECURE THE PROPERTY, MAKE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS, AND IF NEEDED, AND MARKET THE PROPERTY ASAP.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROGRAMS, HOWEVER, FOR BORROWERS HAVING A HARDSHIP, WE REVIEW THEIR LOAN AND TRY TO HELP THEM OUT IN ANY WAY WE CAN, IF POSSIBLE.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE ONE, UH, OFFICE LOCATION IN NEWARK AND IT IS A DA, UH, COMPLIANT.
AND, UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT OUR, OUR BANK OFFERS LOWER RATES TO BORROWERS FOR LOANS SOLD IN THE SECONDARY MARKET, INCLUDING LMI, UH, APPLICANTS NO CRA COMPLAINTS, LARGE MULTIFAMILY PORTFOLIO, NO FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY.
UM, AND WE, WE'VE BEEN IN COLLABORATION WITH VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, BONSAI, UH, POP PREVENTION OPPORTUNITY PREPARATION AS PART OF ITS, UH, OUR EFFORTS TO OFFER FINANCIAL LITERACY TO LOW AND MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUALS WITH WITHIN ASSESSMENT AREAS.
AND LASTLY, UH, THE BANK HAS PARTNERED WITH I-C-B-A-C-R-A SOLUTIONS AND, AND ORGANIZATION OFFERING ELDERS, UH, FINANCIAL LITERACY.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, CAN YOU, UH, JUST DESCRIBE THE GRANT MAKING TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS? AGAIN, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR GRANT MAKING TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN ESSEX COUNTY? AGAIN, UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, FULL LOGISTICS WITH ME.
I CAN GET BACK TO YOU WITH THAT, IF THAT.
WELL, THAT WAS A MAJOR PART OF WHAT WE ASKED FOR TODAY.
UH, HOW MANY GRANTS DID YOU GIVE AND HOW MUCH CAN YOU GIMME THE HIGH LEVEL, UH, 34 DONATIONS AS FAR AS A, A SPECIFIC GRANTS? I COULD GET YOU A LIST.
I CAN, UH, DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATIONS YOU FUNDED? UH, I DO NOT.
HOW MANY BANKS DO YOU HAVE IN ESSEX COUNTY? ONE, WE HAVE ONE IN NEWARK.
HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU HAVE AT THE BANK? IN, WITHIN THE BRANCH? YEAH.
HOW DO YOU MAKE THOSE GRANTS? DO THEY COME FROM YOUR OFFICE OR DO THEY COME FROM A FOUNDATION? UH, THEY WOULD COME FROM THE OFFICE.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE, WE DON'T HAVE A FOUNDATION.
NEITHER ONE OF YOU GUYS KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE GRANT YOU GUYS GIVE.
UH, WELL, DAVID'S BRAND NEW AND, AND I, I, I HAVE WOULD HAVE TO GET A LIST, UH, UH, FOR YOU GUYS.
SO THAT'S IMPORTANT TO US, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU'RE DOING OUT THERE IS SUPPORTING WHAT WE DO OVER HERE ON OUR END OF IT.
AND SO THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
HAVE YOU BEEN HERE BEFORE? I, I WAS, I WAS HERE LAST YEAR.
WAS THAT YOUR FIRST TIME? MY SECOND TIME.
SO THIS MEANS YOUR THIRD TIME HERE? NO, MY SECOND TIME HERE.
SO THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF IT BECAUSE, UH, WE QUERY THIS ALL THE TIME.
AND MADAM VICE PRESIDENT, THIS WAS ON THE APPLICATION, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
ALRIGHT, SO THIS WAS ON YOUR APPLICATION AND WE SPECIFICALLY, UH, PUT IT ON THERE.
I THINK WE, WE, WE MADE A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT LAST YEAR.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF IT.
LIKE, I'M NOT TRYING TO BEAT YOU UP, BUT NO, I UNDERSTAND.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE ASKING VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR, AND YOU'RE CORRECT.
BUT WHY THAT WOULDN'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH IT.
AND I DON'T THINK WE WOULD LIKE TO WASTE OUR TIME WITH IT EITHER.
SO, UH, THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
AND SO YOU GAVE 34 DONATIONS TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT $97,000.
MY MATH, HOW MUCH MONEY IS THAT PER GRANT? THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT A LOT.
YOU KNOW, AND YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL ME WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATIONS YOU'RE GIVING TO.
THEY'RE ALL IN ESSEX COUNTY OR NO? I, I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
I'LL, I'LL FIND OUT THE, UH, DIRECT NUMBER AND THE, AND THE, UH, AMOUNT.
I, I'LL GET ALL THE INFORMATION TO YOU BY TOMORROW.
IT'S GREAT THAT WE KNOW HOW MUCH GRANTS YOU'RE GIVING OUT IN THE WORLD, BUT WE
[01:45:01]
REALLY CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE GIVING TO ESSEX COUNTY AND WHO YOU'RE GIVING TO.AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S LIKE THE BIG DEAL.
I, I UNDERSTAND THAT'S A BIG DEAL BECAUSE, UH, THAT'S A BIG PART OF WHY I COME HERE AND WHY WE ALL COME HERE AND WE'RE, I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING HOME EMPTY HANDED WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR BANK, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
I'M NOT TRYING TO BE MEAN OR NOTHING, BUT I UNDERSTAND WE'RE, WE'RE VERY SPECIFIC FOR A REASON AND, AND THAT DIDN'T COME THROUGH.
I, I WILL MAKE SURE AND GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
AND MOVING FORWARD, I'LL MAKE SURE TO HAVE NOT ONLY THE, UH, AMOUNT FOR ESSEX COUNTY, BUT A BREAKDOWN OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE HAVE.
LET ME HELP YOU OUT ONE STEP FURTHER.
I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN KNOWING THE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, ARTS, HISTORY, CULTURE, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
THAT'S IMPORTANT SPECIFICALLY TO ME.
AND I'M GONNA ALWAYS BE ASKING FOR THAT.
I'M A NONPROFIT GUY AND THIS IS WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING, AND WE NEVER GET ENOUGH ATTENTION.
RIGHT? AND SO THE SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS ARE ALWAYS THE ONES THAT GET BUSD UP.
YOU'RE A SMALL BANK SO YOU CAN RELATE, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY.
SO, UH, I WORK FOR A SMALL ORGANIZATION.
I HAVE ALL MY LIFE AND I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DO.
SO IT'S GREAT IF YOU GIVE TO THE BIG ORGANIZATION.
BUT ALSO TO THE SMALL ONES, WE LIKE TO SEE THAT DIVERSITY.
SO I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU A THIS NEXT YEAR TO, OH, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT MUCH A A ANY ADVICE AS WELL.
I, I'M HAPPY TO GIVE IT, BUT AS YOU CAN TELL, AND, UH, I WILL HAVE THIS INFORMATION FOR YOU, UH, VERY SHORTLY.
AS A FOLLOW UP, I AM INTERESTED IN RECEIVING THE INFORMATION.
UM, HOW ARE YOUR LOANS SOLD IN THE SECONDARY MARKET? MORE ADVANTAGEOUS TO LMI BORROWERS? YOU KIND OF LIKE THREW THAT IN THERE, UM, TO LOOK LIKE, TO OFFSET THAT YOU GUYS DON'T OFFER, YOU DON'T OFFER CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGES.
NO, WE, THERE THEY DO NOT OFFER CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGES, UH, CURRENTLY.
SO I WANT TO KNOW, HOW IS THE PRODUCT OR OPTION THAT YOU HAVE MORE ATTRACTIVE TO BORROWERS IN LMI AREAS? UM, HOW MANY LOANS DID YOU ALL ISSUE TO OWNER OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS IN THE LOW AND MODERATE INCOME CENSUS TRACKS THAT YOU REFERENCED ON PAGE TWO? SO I AM GOING TO BEAT YOU UP A LITTLE BIT.
I THINK THIS PRESENTATION, UM, COULD HAVE BEEN A LOT BETTER.
IT DOESN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION IN HERE.
THAT INFORMATION WAS READILY AVAILABLE.
THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED YOU LIFT THAT INFORMATION FROM YOUR CRA REPORT, SO IT WAS JUST A COPY AND PASTE AND YOU COULD HAVE IMPORTED IT IN.
THE SECOND THING IS, I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED TO SEE THAT YOUR GRANT MAKING WAS $97,000.
AND I'M NOT CLEAR IF THAT'S $97,000 JUST IN ESTES COUNTY OR WAS THAT TO STATEWIDE? I'M, I'M NOT REAL SURE ABOUT THAT.
YOU ALL HOLD $47 MILLION OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE COUNTY OF VESTEX AND $97,000 TO GRANTS AND NOTING, I'M NOT SURE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THAT REPRESENTS.
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN ESTES COUNTY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH.
YOU ALL MAKE MORE THAN THAT OFF INTEREST IN SOME OTHER THINGS FROM THE INVESTMENTS THAT YOU, THAT WE'VE GIVEN YOU.
WE LIKE TO HAVE BANKS THAT UNDERSTAND THE UNIQUENESS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
THEY LIKE TO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND MAKE INVESTMENTS IN PARTNERS WITH OUR COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY GROW THE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT SERVICE OUR CONSTITUENTS.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU DO BETTER.
FROM WHAT I CAN RECALL, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS KIND OF CONVERSATION.
SO, UM, TO BORROW A PHRASE FROM OUR COMMISSIONER, PRESIDENT, PLEASE TAKE THIS FEEDBACK BACK TO YOUR HIGHER UPS THAT WE EXPECT AND LOOK FORWARD TO YOU ALL DOING BE BETTER.
THIS BOARD IS THE BOARD THAT VOTE ON THE DEPOSITS AND WHERE THEY GO, THE LIST OF BANKS THAT THEY GO TO.
AND RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A TOTAL LIST OF 11 BANKS.
WE HERE ARE SITTING HERE TODAY TO EVALUATE YOUR PERFORMANCE.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THIS.
SO WE, UM, ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT WE'VE ASKED SO THAT WE CAN TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MADAM CHAIR, JUST WITH CLARIFICATION, DID YOU SAY $47 MILLION? $47 MILLION, MR. PRESIDENT.
AND YOU'RE IN A POOL OF 11 BANKS.
THAT MADAM UH, CHAIR, THAT RANKS PRETTY HIGH, DOESN'T IT? YES.
I THINK YOU THINK WHAT WE'RE GETTING AT, RIGHT? LIKE I THINK WE DESERVE A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
AND, UH, I WILL, UH, NOT ONLY GET YOUR ANSWERS, I WILL HOPEFULLY, UH, WE, WE NOT HOPEFULLY WE WILL DO BETTER.
UH, AS FAR AS, UH, WITHIN ESSEX COUNTY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE, WE'RE NOT REALLY HERE TO REALLY, WE'RE NOT REALLY HERE.
I MEAN, I THINK I SPEAK FOR MOST OF US.
WE'RE NOT HERE TO VOLUNTARILY BEAT PEOPLE UP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT
[01:50:01]
WE NEED TO ADVOCATE.AND IF YOU'RE DOING $47 MILLION WORTH OF BUSINESS WITH US, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD INVEST A LITTLE BIT MORE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WOULD YOU SAY NO, IF WE SAID, HEY, LET'S RANK THAT UP TO LIKE $65 MILLION, WOULD YOU SAY, NO, NO, NO, OF COURSE NOT.
RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? BUT, UH, I UNDERSTAND.
COULD, COULD WE SAY, COULD WE SAY, LET'S LOWER THAT IF WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF OUR PARTNERS, YOU KNOW? YEAH, WE CAN.
SO I, I THINK THAT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS MAYBE THE, AND I'LL BE, SHOULD I SAY CORPORATE WORDS AND SLUR? THIS IS A MARKET CORRECTION THAT WE, WE WE'RE GIVING YOU, I THINK HERE.
AND I, AND I'LL BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THAT AS WELL.
I I NOT ONLY WILL WE'LL PETITION FOR IT, I'LL BE PARTICIPATING AS WELL.
WE ARE BELIEVERS OF THOSE WHO CAN REDEEM.
BEFORE YOU GO, ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE CHANGE IS YOUR WEBSITE IMPROVE SO THAT THE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS COULD BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THEY COME TO YOU FOR SPONSORSHIP IN GRANT MAKING? YEAH, I, WE HAVE ADDRESSED THAT.
WE'RE, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE KIND OF, UH, SPRUCING UP OUR, UH, OUR WEBSITE TO, YOU KNOW, BETTER IMPROVE IT FOR NOT ONLY US, BUT ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR OUR CLIENTS.
SO WHEN THEY GO THERE, IT'S KIND OF A ONE-STOP SHOP.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING.
SO NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE EVALUATING YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
IF I MAY LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT WHEN YOU SEARCH GRANTS IN THEIR, UH, SEARCH TOOL, IT SAYS NO RESULTS WERE FOUND.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER AREA THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IMPROVE.
MR. COLT TREE, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT ELSE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM DO.
DO YOU HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE? WE, WE DO.
WE HAVE A NEW DIRECTOR OF SMALL BUSINESS, JULIUS COLT, UH, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
AND WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO INTERACT WITH, UH, MS. BURGESS.
AND I'LL GIVE YOU HER NAME AND NUMBER.
IF YOU COULD SPELL ITSS, I'M SORRY.
AND HER NUMBER IS 9 7 3 6 2 1 2 0 1 0.
AND THIS IS OUR BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES.
IF ANYTHING I'LL GIVE, UH, MS. BURGESS A CALL AND, UH, SET UP A EITHER A A MEET, MEET AND GREET AND, UH, WE'LL GO FROM THERE.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD, AND YOU CAN BEGIN YOUR PRESENTATION.
YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW, UM, OF YOUR CRA ACTIVITIES, YOUR SMALL BUSINESS LENDING, YOUR MORTGAGE PRODUCTS FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, AND, UM, ALL THE LENDING THAT YOU'VE DONE TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND LMI AREAS AND MORTGAGE PRODUCTS.
AND DON'T FORGET GRANT MAKING.
UM, I'M TOM THOMAS GRAZIANO FROM FLAGSTAR BANK.
I'M DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT BANKING OPERATIONS AND I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU RAY PEREZ.
HE'S OUR CRA OFFICER AND HE'LL BE PRESENTING THANK YOU IF WITH ME IS ALSO ROBERT WRIGHT, UH, GOVERNMENT BANKING RELATIONSHIP MANAGER.
AND ANNA AMMAR, OUR BRANCH MANAGER FROM OUR PACIFIC STREET BRANCH, WHICH IS LOCAL TO NEWARK.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT.
ADJUST THE MIC SO WE CAN THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES TO PRESENT, UH, COMMISSIONERS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU.
I'M THE CRA OFFICER FOR THE NEW YORK REGION.
UH, FLAGSTAR FINANCIAL IS INDEED, UH, VERY DEDICATED
[01:55:01]
TO ITS CRA ACTIVITIES.UM, LENDING HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE BECAUSE WE WERE ORDERED BY THE OCC.
WE JUST BECAME A LARGE BANK WITH THE TRANSITION FROM NEW YORK COMMUNITY BANK TO FLAGSTAR FINANCIAL TO HALT LENDING BECAUSE WE WERE OVER-LEVERAGE.
SO WITH RESPECT TO THE LENDING, IT HASN'T BEEN THAT IMPRESSIVE THIS YEAR.
UM, HOWEVER, OUR CRA COMMITMENT WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE MADE IN FUNDING, UH, UH, SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS IN ESSEX INCLUDE THE ARC OF ESSEX COUNTY, MICHAELS COMMUNITY SERVICES CORPORATION, METROPOLITAN YMCA, THE NEWARK ARTS COUNCIL, UNITED WAY OF ESSEX, AND WEST HUDSON PERS HANDS, URBAN LEAGUE AND HABITAT.
AND WE ARE NOT CONSIDERING A, UH, CONTRIBUTION FOR THE NEWARK SYMPHONY HALL.
UM, OUR, UH, WE HAVE A POLICY, OF COURSE, OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION THAT, UH, STATES THAT, UH, WE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE IN, UH, IN LENDING OR HIRING.
UH, WE HAVE A DIVERSE WORKFORCE THAT, UM, UH, WORKS TO, UH, UH, WE HAVE, I'M SORRY.
OH, UH, DIVERSE WORKFORCE THAT, UH, WORKS WITH ALL COMMUNITIES IN TRYING TO MEET THEIR LENDING NEEDS AND COMMUNITY NEEDS.
OF WHICH ONE? THIRD ARE IN LMI AREAS.
SO, UM, YOU SAID THAT YOU GUYS HAVE NOT MADE ANY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LOANS.
DO YOU INTEND TO RESTART MAKING THEM? YES, MA'AM.
AS SOON AS THE OCC ALLOWS US, UM, FORTUNATELY WE WERE OVER-LEVERAGED AND THE OCC HAS ORDERED US TO BASICALLY STOP AND BECAUSE WE WERE OVER-LEVERAGED.
BUT CERTAINLY, UM, ONCE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY ALLOW US TO DO SO.
WE, WE, WE, WE CERTAINLY INTEND TO DO SO.
AND THAT INCLUDES SMALL BUSINESS LENDING.
SO YOU HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN LENDING THIS YEAR? NOT, NOT REALLY THAT.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? I DO MADAM.
GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR COMING HERE TODAY.
UH, CAN YOU, UH, I'M GONNA QUALIFY FOR SAYING I'M A NON-PROFIT GUY DURING THE DAY AND IN THE ARTS AND CULTURE IT IS PARTICULARLY, UH, IT SOUNDS GREAT THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING ANOTHER ARTS GRANT.
THE MORE THE MERRIER YOU CAN'T GIVE ENOUGH AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.
UH, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW PEOPLE, UH, HOW ANY ORGANIZATIONS CAN APPLY FOR A GRANT? 'CAUSE I'M, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME FINDING ANYTHING AND IF I TYPE IN GRANTS, SO I GET IS GRANT LOCATIONS IN GRANT MICHIGAN.
I'M SORRY, SIR, I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION AGAIN, PLEASE.
HOW DO YOU LET PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO GET A GRANT? UM, IT'S HARD TO FIND IT ON YOUR WEBSITE.
WELL, UH, WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH OUR LOCAL BRANCHES, UHHUH
I DO OUTREACH WITH ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS A CRA OFFICER.
SO ONE WOULD'VE TO GO TO ONE OF YOUR LOCAL BRANCHES, INQUIRE IN PERSON ABOUT A GRANT, LOCAL BRANCHES.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ONLINE AS WELL.
SIR, CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE, BECAUSE I CAN'T FIND IT.
UM, YOU ARE FLAGSTAR.COM, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
I SO IF I, IF I DO YOUR SEARCH TOOL FOR FOUNDATION GRANTS, IS IT A FOUNDATION GRANT? THAT IS, THAT IS ANOTHER PART OF THE BUSINESS.
THE FOUNDATION IS SORT OF A SEPARATE ENTITY.
UHHUH AND THE FOUNDATION DOES PRIMARILY A LOT OF THE ARTS FUNDING, SIR.
I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THEM HERE.
THEY'RE NOT LINKED TO YOUR BANK, UH, WEBSITE.
I'M HAVING FIND, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE FINANCIAL EXPERTS THAT HELP YOU WITH YOUR FOUNDATION NEEDS IF I SHOULD HAVE A FOUNDATION, BUT I CAN'T FIND IT.
AND THE POINT IS THAT, UH, IT'S NOT VERY CLEAR FOR FOLKS TO COME AND LOOK FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPENING HERE.
AND ALL THE OTHER BANKS THAT WE DO BUSINESS WITH, WE DO, UH, REQUIRE THAT OF THEM.
SO I DON'T SEE THAT HAPPENING.
UH, CAN YOU TELL ME AGAIN HOW MANY GRANTS YOU GAVE AND WHAT AMOUNT? IN ESSEX COUNTY TOTAL, WE GAVE, UH, APPROXIMATELY $187,000 IN ACCOUNTS.
AND THAT INCLUDES 20 5K TO THE ARC OF ESSEX COUNTY, ONE K TO MICROS COMMUNITY SERVICES CORPORATION, 20 5K TO THE METROPOLITAN YMCA OF THE ORANGES 20 5K TO THE NEWARK ARTS COUNCIL, UNITED WAY OF ESSEX AND WEST HUDSON.
UH, 25 FOR PER UM, HANDS WAS 30 K URBAN LEAGUE OF ESSEX COUNTY 10 K.
AND SPENDING HABITAT FOR HUMANITY WAS 10 K.
AND WE ARE CONSIDERING RIGHT NOW 10 K FOR THE DOOR OF SYMPHONY HALL.
[02:00:01]
THEY PROBABLY DESERVE IT, BUT THAT'S JUST ME SPEAKING AS A NONPROFIT GUY.I MEAN, THOSE ARE WORK UP 20 5K THAT A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT FOR THE OR ORGANIZATIONS.
BUT I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE INFORMATION ON YOUR WEBSITE AS TO HOW, BECAUSE HERE'S, AS A NONPROFIT GUY, HERE'S WHAT I CAN TELL YOU.
IF I'M AN EMPLOYEE OF ONE OF THREE EMPLOYEES IN MY ORGANIZATION, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE BIG ONES, RIGHT? THERE'S MANY OF REALLY SMALL ONES HERE IN NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY AND UH, LIKE IT'S HARD FOR ME TO GO AND WALK INTO A BANK AND TRY TO STRIKE UP THAT, YOU KNOW, HEY, YOU KNOW, DO YOU HAVE GRANTS? AND I'M SURE YOU FOLKS ARE BUSY AT THE OFFICE THERE, AND IT WOULD PROBABLY BE EASIER IF I CAN GO ON YOUR WEBSITE, SEE WHAT KIND OF THINGS YOU FUND OR CONVERSELY SEE WHAT KIND OF THINGS YOU DO NOT FUND SO THAT I DON'T HAVE TO INVEST THAT TIME BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, TIME IS PRECIOUS.
RIGHT? AND I CAN GUARANTEE YOU, I'VE NEVER COME ACROSS AN ARTS ORGANIZATION OR ANY OTHER NON-PROFIT THAT SAID TO ME, WE'RE JUST FLUSH WITH STAFFING.
AND I'LL SHARE THOSE THOUGHTS WITH MY EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT I'VE HAD A LONG CAREER IN THE NON-PROFIT WORLD, SO I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS WHY I AM VERY PROACTIVE IN REACHING OUT TO A LOT OF NON-PROFITS.
AND I TRY TO WORK WITH GRASSROOTS AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, GROUND, UH, NON-PROFITS IN THAT MIDDLE AREA THAT I, I KNOW IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO EVEN, YOU KNOW, UH, WORK WITH CORPORATIONS.
SO YOU, I, I'M VERY EMPATHETIC AND SYMPATHETIC AND THAT'S WHY I'M PROACTIVE ON THAT.
I'M SURE YOU ARE THE SIZE OF YOUR GRANTS LOOK GOOD AND THEY'RE HEALTHY.
MY MY POINT IS NOT A CRITICISM OF YOUR EFFORTS GOING OUT.
MY, MY POINT IS THE CRITICISMS OF PEOPLE FINDING YOU.
IT'S A TWO WAY STREET AND I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING ON AS HARD AS YOU CAN.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN FIND YOU.
WHAT KIND OF FUNDING DO WE HAVE FOR THIS BANK HERE? DO WE HAVE A IT'S NOT A LOT.
YEAH, IT'D BE NICE TO, YOU KNOW, STRIKE UP A RAPPORT WHERE WE COULD DO MORE BUSINESS WITH YOU AND THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT AREN'T VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ASKED THIS EVERY YEAR OF ALL THE BANKS THAT COME AND I'M PRETTY, YOU KNOW, PRETTY CRITICAL ON THE, ON THE GIVING SIDE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD A, ANOTHER BANK EARLIER THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY WITH US AND I'M SURE YOU LIKE A PIECE OF THAT.
UH, AND THEY DIDN'T, THEY DIDN'T DO A GOOD JOB.
AND WE, AND THEY DIDN'T DO A GOOD JOB, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
BUT, BUT, UH, THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US.
AND I'M NOT TRYING TO BE CRITICAL OF YOU FOLKS.
I MEAN, UH, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE WORKS HARD, I'M SURE.
SO, UH, IT'S JUST THE HAVING PEOPLE FIND YOU, RIGHT.
BECAUSE YOU'RE ONE PERSON AND AS, AS GREAT AS YOU MAY BE, AS I MAY BE ANOTHER ONE HERE, WE'RE JUST ONE PERSON.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I WORK WITH A LOT OF THE BRANCH MANAGERS AND, UH, BRANCH PERSONNEL.
THEY HAVE A LOT OF RELATIONSHIPS TOO, SIR.
WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY VERY LOCAL.
SO, UM, THEY HAVE A LOT OF RELATIONSHIPS.
AND BELIEVE ME, SIR, I'M OFTEN INUNDATED OKAY.
WELL, THAT'S GOOD,
WE MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.
AND HOW MANY BRANCHES DO YOU HAVE HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY? WE HAVE 12 BRANCHES, SIR.
OF WHICH 33% ARE IN LMI CENSUS TRACKS.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT INFORMATION.
AND, AND I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE FACT THAT YOU COULD LIST THE ORGANIZATIONS AND THE AMOUNTS AND THERE WERE HEALTHY AMOUNTS.
WE, WE APPRECIATE, WE SHOULD BE COMMENDED ON, ON THAT GOOD WORK.
AND, UH, WE KNOW WE'D LOVE TO DO MORE BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN.
AND, UH, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE, THOSE ARE IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS OF DOING BUSINESS WITH US.
SO AS FAR AS WE SEE, AND WE DO MORE BUSINESS AS WELL, SIR.
AND CERTAINLY I WILL, UM, TAKE UP YOUR, YOUR OBSERVATION WITH MY, MY EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT.
YOU JUST TOLD MY GUY THERE THE REAL PAIN AND, YOU KNOW, HE WAS ORANG.
I'M FROM THE NONPROFIT WORLD, SO I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO ON PAGE TWO OF YOUR REPORT, YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL HOME MORTGAGE PRODUCT WHERE YOU WILL LEND UP TO 100% OF LTV, BUT YOU'RE NOT DOING THIS RIGHT NOW, CORRECT? THAT.
THAT'S OUR DESTINATION HOME MORTGAGE, UH, PRODUCT.
AND WE ALSO HAVE A-D-P-A-A DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OF $10 DOLLARS THAT CONTINUES TO BE, UH, MARKETED, MA'AM.
AND WE, WE CONTINUE TO, TO WORK WITH ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS TO, UH, PROMOTE THAT.
SO YOU ARE DOING THIS ONE RIGHT NOW? YES, MA'AM.
AND THAT, THAT'S A GOOD PRODUCT.
UM, I CAN THINK OF A COUPLE PEOPLE THAT I'M GONNA SAY, HEY, YOU SHOULD LOOK AT ALL THESE LIST OF PEOPLE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT PRODUCTS MAY WORK FOR YOU.
WE ALSO HAVE A PRODUCT WITH FANNIE MAE, WHERE WE DO A $5,000 MAX AS WELL.
AND IT COULD BE, 'CAUSE 100% LTV IS A PRETTY DARN GOOD SO FAR.
YOU, YOU WERE THE ONLY PERSON.
MOST PEOPLE HERE THAT WE'VE SEEN WERE 85%.
I ALSO WANNA COMMEND THAT YOU GUYS, DESPITE SOME OF YOUR CHALLENGES THAT YOU'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW, UM, YOU GUYS GET
[02:05:01]
A GOOD NUMBER OF GRANTS.I WANNA COMMEND YOU FOR THAT, FOR THAT WORK IN THAT AREA.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD BEFORE YOU COMMENT.
THOMAS GRAZIANO FLAGSTAR BANK.
UH, JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT, UH, MORTGAGE LOANS, UH, BECAUSE THEY'RE ABLE TO BE SOLD, WE'RE STILL ABLE TO MAKE THOSE LOANS WHERE THE OTHER TYPES OF LENDING WE WOULD HOLD THEM, THOSE WERE THE LOANS THAT WE HAD TO UNLOAD.
SO THAT, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S, THAT DISTINCTION WAS, WAS CLEAR TO YOU.
WELL, WE WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT AND MAKING YOUR PRESENTATION WELCOME.
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR BUSINESS CARDS WITH ADAM, UM, ON THE WAY OUT.
WHATEVER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT WE REQUESTED, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO ADAM AND HE WILL DISSEMINATE IT TO THE COMMISSIONERS ON YOUR BEHALF.
HAVE A GOOD EVENING AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SITTING, UM, THROUGH OUR HEARINGS LAST WEEK AND THIS WEEK.
YOU AND MR. COLT, I HAVE A QUESTION.
CAN YOU COME TO THE MIC? UM, JUST GIMME A COUPLE MINUTES FOR THOSE, THESE FOLKS TO YES, THANK YOU.
QUESTION IS ABOUT BANK OF AMERICA.
THEY HAVE, UH, LITTLE OVER $6 MILLION IN DEPOSITS.
WHAT DOES THAT REPRESENT AND WHAT IS THAT FOR? UM, MOST OF THE, WE HAVE ONE ACCOUNT FOR THE CURRENT FUND, AND WE HAVE, MOST OF THEM ARE FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, CDBG PROGRAM.
AND THIS WAS SET UP LIKE LONG TIME AGO.
I WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO CLOSE SOME OF THEM.
UH, I'M ALREADY CLOSED, LIKE AT LEAST THREE ACCOUNTS OR FOUR.
UH, OUR BALANCE WENT DOWN FROM, LAST YEAR WAS LIKE OVER 11 MILLION.
I IT WAS, I REMEMBER IT WAS HIGHER.
AND I'VE ACTUALLY CURRENTLY TRIED TO CLOSE MORE ACCOUNTS, BUT SOME OF THESE, SOME OF THESE ACCOUNTS HAS LIKE WIRE COMING FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS, WAS SET UP LIKE LONG TIME AGO.
AND I CANNOT FIND CONTACT PEOPLE, BUT STILL WORKING ON IT.
I'M, I'M, I'M WORKING ON AND CLOSING ALL OF THEM.
IT'S NOT LIKE MOST OF THEM, IF NOT ALL OF THEM.
SO, UM, MY CONCERN AS THE CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE IS YEAR TO YEAR, THIS BRAND, THIS BANK STRUGGLES AND DOESN'T WANT TO APPEAR BEFORE US.
THEY GIVE US A WRITTEN REPORT.
UH, FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS THAT I RECALL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, THEY HAVE NOT APPEARED BEFORE US.
AND LAST YEAR WE MADE A SPECIAL CONSIDERATION AND BROUGHT THEM BEFORE, UM, ONE OF THE REGULAR MEETINGS BECAUSE THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY HERE AND MAGICALLY SOMETHING HAPPENED.
SO LIKE MY RECOMMENDATION, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT WE WIND IT UP IF THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN APPEARING BEFORE US TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING ACTIVITIES.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A BANKING PARTNER THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE HERE IN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX.
I'M, I'M WORKING ON, ON CLOSING MOST OF THE ACCOUNTS IF IT'S NOT ALL OF THEM.
MADAM CHAIR, I JUST WANNA THANK MR. MOT AND, UH, MR. COLTRAN FOR BEING HERE AS WELL BECAUSE, UH, HE'S ARE PROBABLY NOT THE MOST EXCITING MEETINGS, ALTHOUGH I THINK I ENJOY THEM.
I THINK MAYBE WE, YOU KNOW, BUT IT IS, UH, IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO, I THINK, RIGHT? BECAUSE MOST OF WHAT WE DO IS, IS WE HANDLE MONEY, RIGHT? WE, WE ARE PROVING, UH, CONTRACTS AND BUDGET AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE SOUL OF ESSEX COUNTY, YOU KNOW MM-HMM
AND THE FUNDING IS IN THE BANKS.
AND IF THEY DON'T, IF THEY'RE NOT GOOD PARTNERS, UH, YOU KNOW, THEN WE, WE, WE, WE DO NOTHING BUT GOOD PARTNERS EVERYWHERE ELSE IN EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IN ESSEX COUNTY ON BOTH SIDES OF GOVERNMENT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY INTEREST IN, UH, YOU KNOW, COMING HERE TO SHARE THAT OR WHATEVER, WHICH IS INTERESTING THAT LAST BANK WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD WITH GRANTS, BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY INTEREST IN BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS HERE WHERE IT MATTERS.
AND SO, UH, MR. MOHAM, TO THE DEGREE THAT WE CAN SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS AND MR. COLTRANE, AND WE, WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY LOOK AT THAT AND, UH, CONSIDER THOSE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, UH, THE LAST BANK, I THINK GAVE MORE MONEY THAN OTHER BANKS WITH A LOT MORE MONEY, AND THEY WERE A SMALLER BANK.
AND I, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A POUND FOR POUND THING, RIGHT? NOT EVERYONE CAN GIVE ON THE SAME LEVEL.
SOME ARE MUCH MORE SMALLER BANKS AND THEY SERVE A VERY DIFFERENT NICHE AND THEY DON'T HAVE THE BACKING THAT OTHERS DO.
BUT I, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE, IF WE QUALIFY A POUND FOR POUND, I, I THINK WE CAN DO BUSINESS WITH LARGE, MEDIUM AND SMALL BANKS WITH NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER.
BUT I THINK THE KEY INGREDIENT THAT THEY ALL NEED TO HAVE IN COMMON IS THEIR WILLINGNESS TO BE PARTNERS AND UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US, YOU KNOW, I, I HATE TO SAY THE CORPORATE GREED THING, BUT YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN IT TO MAKE MONEY.
BUT THERE'S ALSO AN ASPECT OF IT THAT COULD BE, UH, PHILANTHROPIC, WHICH IS A REQUIREMENT ANYWAY.
[02:10:01]
WHY NOT DO YOU KNOW, PHILANTHROPY HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY WHERE THEY'RE MAKING A LOT OF MONEY AND YOU KNOW, BY DEFAULT MANAGING A LOT OF THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE, UH, BY DEFAULT.SO, BUT THANK YOU AND MADAM CHAIR, THANK YOU FOR AN OUTSTANDING JOB IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, UH, FOR UH, DOING THIS, FOR PUTTING IT TOGETHER.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, AND FOR THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU AND COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON HAD, UH, PROPOSED THAT ONE OF OUR REGULAR MEETINGS ABOUT THIS, I THINK IT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO ADD THOSE OTHER DIMENSIONS TO IT.
MR. HAM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING.
I WANNA THANK THE COMMISSIONER STAFF FOR WORKING WITH US AND PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
THANK MY FELLOW COLLEAGUES FOR COMING OUT AND SUPPORTING THIS VERY IMPORTANT HEARING THAT WE DO.
IT'S OUR WAY OF FINDING OUT THE INVESTMENTS AND THE IMPACT THAT THE BANKS HAVE HERE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY OF ESSEX.
FROM THE MORTGAGE PRODUCTS TO SMALL BUSINESS LENDING ON VETERANS, MINORITIES, AND ALL THE OTHER, EVERYBODY ELSE IN BETWEEN THAT NEED FINANCING TO OPERATE.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT.
WE APPRECIATE YOU, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THIS AGAIN NEXT YEAR.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
WE ARE ADJOURNED, MR. PRESIDENT.