us-community-benefits-agreement-banc-20of-20california-d95c5f4069263811.pdf

A Community Benefits Agreement signed on September 14, 2021, between Banc of California, N.A., the Greenlining Institute, and the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC). The agreement outlines five-year commitments and goals for community development, small business lending, mortgages, consumer services, and charitable donations, established in connection with the bank's acquisition of Pacific Mercantile Bank.

• Banc of California committed to increasing Community Development (CD) lending to $1.4 billion over five years. This includes a $200 million commitment for deed restricted affordable housing and a requirement that at least 50% of CD lending be targeted toward economic development efforts. The bank also pledged to increase CD lending participation with mission-driven groups and economic development CDFIs by 50% of the 2021 baseline in the first year, with 10% annual increases thereafter.
• The bank pledged $125 million in community development investments over five years. This includes $1 million in equity equivalent investments and $100,000 in capacity building grants to support nonprofits and community land trusts in acquiring and preserving distressed assets, aligned with SB 1079-Skinner.
• Banc of California set several targets for Small Business Lending (SBL), including achieving 30% of SBLs (by count) for businesses with less than $1 million in revenue by Year 3, with an aspirational target of 45% by Year 5. It also aims for 30% of SBLs to be under $150,000 by Year 3. Additionally, the bank committed to referring at least 20% of loan declinations to nonprofit CDFIs, community lenders, and technical assistance providers.
• The bank committed to expanding SBA and State Guarantee Loan programs with a total goal of approximately $150 million in new loan originations over five years. The target is to increase originations by 50% annually for the first three years ($15 million, $22 million, $33 million) and by 10% in years 4 and 5 ($36 million, $40 million).
• Regarding mortgages and consumer services, the bank committed to purchasing or originating $50 million in single family mortgages in California LMI communities over five years. It also agreed to implement a banking account for unbanked and underbanked communities within six months via the BankOn program, limit daily negative balance fees to $15/month, and reduce permitted daily overdrafts to two.
• Banc of California pledged to increase its annual contributions budget to at least $1 million per year, representing a 70% increase over the 2020 baseline. Specific allocations include 15% for housing programs, homeownership counseling, and foreclosure prevention, and 15% for the stabilization and growth of small businesses in its Assessment Area.
• The bank committed to increasing supplier diversity by doubling its sourceable procurement spend from diverse businesses from 4% to 8% over five years, with an aspirational target of 10% by Year 5.
• The agreement includes an oversight mechanism where the bank's CEO will meet annually with the CRC and Greenlining to share compliance data. This agreement was submitted to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to facilitate the acquisition of Pacific Mercantile Bank.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). us-community-benefits-agreement-banc-20of-20california-d95c5f4069263811.pdf. https://www.wri.org/system/files/webform/us_community_benefits_agreements/86990/us-community-benefits-agreement-banc%20of%20california.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. us-community-benefits-agreement-banc-20of-20california-d95c5f4069263811.pdf. n.d. https://www.wri.org/system/files/webform/us_community_benefits_agreements/86990/us-community-benefits-agreement-banc%20of%20california.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=World Resources Institute |title=us-community-benefits-agreement-banc-20of-20california-d95c5f4069263811.pdf |url=https://www.wri.org/system/files/webform/us_community_benefits_agreements/86990/us-community-benefits-agreement-banc%20of%20california.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{worldresourcesinstitutenduscommunitybenefitsagreementbanc20of20californiad95c5f4069263811pdf, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{us-community-benefits-agreement-banc-20of-20california-d95c5f4069263811.pdf}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/system/files/webform/us_community_benefits_agreements/86990/us-community-benefits-agreement-banc%20of%20california.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }