skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump urges Speaker Mike Johnson to raise taxes on the wealthy, adding new wrinkle to massive GOP bill; New Sierra Club dashboard tracks IN coal pollution; Report says moms spend 167% more time parenting than dads; MI 'clean fuels' backers speak out as Congress could end EV tax credits.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A judge orders certification of the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race, Wisconsin Democrats want congressional maps redrawn, and the interim U.S. Attorney for District of Columbia loses the job over his support for January 6th rioters.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are devastated by cuts to the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged elimination but cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame in rural California.

New System to Resell Small Business Loans Helps Women, People of Color

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 18, 2023   

A new system of bundling and reselling small-business loans is funneling millions to companies owned by women, people of color, immigrants and others who are often excluded from the financial system. Community development financial institutions - known as CDFIs - focus on small loans of $5 to $250,000 sometimes even if the business has not started turning a profit.

Brett Simmons, managing director at Scale Link, said the nonprofit buys loans from CDFIs and bundles them for larger banks looking to meet requirements under the Community Reinvestment Act.

"Any CDFI, after they originate a loan, they have to wait for repayment before they have new capital to lend. And we help them get that capital back faster by purchasing loans from them," said Simmons. "So, that frees up new cash to lend. And then we also help them generate new revenue by packaging some of those loans together and selling them to banks."

This secondary market is expanding. Since Scale Link launched in 2020, it has purchased 731 loans made by CDFIs to California small businesses, worth more than $14 million.

Sara Razavi, CEO of Working Solutions CDFI, said her group focuses on helping businesses that have a hard time getting financing from traditional banks that prefer to deal with larger, more established companies.

"They're just low-income individuals who have limited credit profiles and have been designated by banks as being less likely to pay back, but we have an over 95% repayment rate," she explained. "So, the quality of our portfolio is extremely strong."

Nationally, Scale Link has purchased more than 2,800 loans worth $43 million and has donated $4.4 million in profits back to the CDFIs.

Disclosure: EMC Communications contributes to our fund for reporting on Environment, Philanthropy, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Research by economist Raj Chetty and colleagues at Harvard shows Black men's outcomes disproportionately determine economic mobility, with the racial wealth gap linked more to male than female trajectories. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As historically Black colleges and universities grapple with declining Black male enrollment, Howard University's "Kings of Campus" initiative is …


Social Issues

play sound

The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday asked a federal judge to pause the removal of books from Pentagon-run schools that pertain to diversit…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Republican lawmakers are considering billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid. But a new report finds those spending cuts might impact health-care …


In 2024, volunteers with the Pacific Crest Trail Association worked more that 57,000 hours and maintained more than 1,100 miles of trail. (PCTA)

Environment

play sound

Access to the beloved Pacific Crest Trail may soon be limited - due to a drop in federal grants and big layoffs proposed for federal public lands agen…

Health and Wellness

play sound

With Mother's Day coming up, some Pennsylvania lawmakers are backing a set of bills that could help improve maternal health. The Black Maternal …

A global survey of 130,000 people across 125 countries found that 89% say their government should do more to fight climate change. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Nine in ten people in Colorado and across the globe are worried about climate change and want governments to do something about it, according to a …

Social Issues

play sound

Congressional Republicans are poised to move forward with a proposal that would bring major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…

Environment

play sound

Compared with other states, North Dakota has yet to see a big invasion of aquatic nuisance species. But officials are not letting their guard down…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021