Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a nonprofit loan fund that works in partnership with Southern Bancorp Inc. of Little Rock, said Tuesday that it has received $2 million — the maximum available under the Financial Assistance program of the U.S. Treasury's Community Development Financial Institution Fund.
SBCP was among 196 organization to receive money from the fund this year. The money is awarded to institutions like SBCP based on their success in providing financial access to underserved communities.
"We are honored to have once again been selected as a CDFI Fund award recipient," said Darrin Williams, CEO of Southern Bancorp Inc. "These awards are critical to the mission of financial organizations like SBCP that are working to increase access to capital and financially strengthen families in low-income communities."
Southern Bancorp and SBCP have used previous awards to increase lending. Dominik Mjartan, CEO of SBCP and executive vice president of Southern Bancorp, said this year's award will allow SBCP to extend financial development services like credit and homebuyer counseling, financial education and free tax preparation to more of Southern Bancorp's markets.
One other Arkansas CDFI, the Bank of Lake Village, received $700,000 from the fund.