The US Treasury Department announced on Thursday a $9 billion Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) to provide funding to communities traditionally excluded from the financial system and ones that have struggled the most during the coronavirus crisis
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) The US Treasury Department announced on Thursday a $9 billion Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) to provide funding to communities traditionally excluded from the financial system and ones that have struggled the most during the coronavirus crisis.
"The program will ultimately invest $9 billion in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions, supporting their efforts to provide financial products for small and minority-owned businesses and consumers in low-income and underserved communities," the Treasury Department said in a news release.
The $9 billion ECIP will also complement some $3 billion of grants provided by the CDFI Fund through the CDFI Rapid Response Program and the Emergency Support and Minority Lending Program, the release said.
"America has always had financial services deserts, places where it's very difficult for people to get their hands on capital so they can, for example, start a business. But the pandemic has made these deserts even more inhospitable," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the release. "The Emergency Capital Investment Program will help these places that the financial sector hasn't typically served well. It will allow people to access capital, especially in communities of color and rural areas."
The Treasury Department explained the programs under the ECIP were designed to provide relief at a moment when many households and small businesses were struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and the pain was not evenly distributed across the country.
Aside from piecemeal programs like the ECIP, the Biden administration is also working to issue through Congress a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which will provide, among others, $1,400 checks to most Americans and grants for small businesses.
