The U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Inspector General (OIG) released updated guidance outlining new requirements for recipients of the Coronavirus Relief Fund. The new guidance comes after a July 2 memorandum was released stating that OIG is responsible for monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of CRF payments.

As states and localities allocate emergency rental assistance funds to help renters avoid losing their homes, local leaders must decide where to prioritize their resources. To help inform those decisions, the Urban Institute has developed the Emergency Rental Assistance Priority Index.

So far, about $291B of COVID-19 financial relief for the healthcare industry has been disbursed or committed, leaving about $121 billion still up for grabs, the Committee for a Responsible Budget recently reported. At least $412B has been authorized by Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the Administration to go to healthcare stakeholders to offset the massive revenue hits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic and the renewed focus on systemic economic inequality in our country are bringing new attention and support to community-based nonprofit lenders. Around 300 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) made more than $7 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans to help small businesses, many of which had been left out previously.

The New York State Restaurant Association recently released a survey that shows rather alarming results: nearly two-thirds of restaurants say they are likely to close by the end of the year if they don't receive financial assistance.

Farmers in the U.S. are facing severe challenges including poor economic conditions, extreme weather, and disruptions from COVID-19. These risks also impact farmers' financial partners, including agricultural lenders. While some of these risks are difficult to anticipate and plan for, there are growing opportunities and resources available for farmers and their lenders to better understand their vulnerabilities related to climate change — and take steps to build resilience.

U.S. Senators left Washington this week without taking action on another round of legislation to respond to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. Why has this proven so difficult? It has to do with divisions among Republicans.

CDFA Brownfields Financing Webinar Series: Brownfields and Opportunity Zones
September 10, 2020 - 1:00 PM Eastern

CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series: Resources for Resilient Infrastructure from the DOE
September 11, 2020 - 1:00 - 3:00 PM Eastern

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Understanding The Municipal Liquidity Facility
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - 1:00 PM Eastern

There are several existing agricultural lender initiatives that can inform the development of lending programs or products for resilient agriculture. This report derives five key lessons from these initiatives, including the need to understand the financial benefits of and barriers to resilient agricultural practices, design loan structures and requirements that correspond with the financial characteristics of those practices, utilize loan support to launch initial products, collect data on financial and environmental performance to show results and adjust credit rating processes, and consider other forms of support farmers may need to ensure successful practice adoption.

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