The Investment Will Provide Direct Capital That Will Help More Lower-Income
Chicagoans Build Sustainable Wealth
Chicago (May 9, 2023)—Today, City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin announced that the Chicago Treasurer’s Office (CTO) has deposited $10 million from its cash holdings in Albany Bank & Trust Co. NA (Albank), a community bank with $700 million in assets that provides capital for affordable housing and small businesses.
The deposit is part of the CTO’s commitment to put taxpayer dollars to work for Chicagoans, especially those without equal access to financial resources. The goal is to help create economic opportunities that build sustainable wealth and strong communities while effectively managing the liquidity needs of the city. Of the 11 approved Municipal Depositories of the City of Chicago, Albank is the only financial institution that is an independent community bank and not a publicly traded regional or national bank.
“Albank and other community lenders supply the capital for affordable housing and small businesses that fuel the engine of our local economy,” said City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. “This $10 million deposit marks the first time my administration has put funds into a community financial institution that offers competitive rates and will positively impact more Chicagoans. I believe this will direct much-needed capital to fuel new economic development that will open doors and build more prosperous futures and stronger communities.”
Building wealth and investing for maximum impact on Chicago’s communities of color has been part of the CTO’s mission since Conyears-Ervin was elected in 2019. The investment in Albank builds on that work.
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ADD 1/Deposit to Catalyze Development in Low-to-Mod Income Neighborhoods
“The $10 million deposit will enable Albank to get desperately needed capital into the hands of hard-working Chicagoans,” said Adam Steinback, Senior Vice President of Albank. “Albany Park is a melting pot, with about two-thirds of area residents identifying as minorities, and this investment will be earmarked for lending that benefits low-to-moderate-income community members to help them build wealth and keep pace with better-funded businesses and entrepreneurs in other communities.”
This is the latest step the CTO has taken to build stronger, more sustainable communities. Earlier this spring, the office invested $25 million in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to make mortgages for single-family homes more accessible to hundreds of low-to-moderate-income homebuyers in the city’s South and West Side neighborhoods.
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