Woodforest National Bank Invests in MDI Keepers Fund Supporting its Mission to Eliminate Racial Wealth Gap

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Aug. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodforest National Bank® (Woodforest) is the first bank to make an equity investment of $2 million in the MDI Keepers Fund (The Fund) sponsored by the National Bankers Association. The Fund is a national Minority Depository Institutions (MDI) capital fund that will make investments in MDIs that primarily lend or facilitate lending to small businesses or individuals in low- and moderate-income (LMI) areas to promote community development, generate good-job growth and economic development across the nation, and throughout Woodforest's 17-state footprint. Woodforest's investment in the Fund is part of a wider effort to support the MDI sector, and other strategic initiatives that address the elimination of the racial wealth gap. The Fund is also an innovative and responsive solution to addressing the challenge MDIs face to raise capital to scale their impact to underserved communities.

"Woodforest's investment is a step in the right direction toward increasing access to capital for Minority Depository Institutions," said National Bankers Association President and CEO, Nicole A. Elam. "MDIs are at the center of creating wealth in minority communities and investments like this are critical for efforts to serve the historically underbanked and unbanked."

Jay Dreibelbis, President and CEO, Woodforest National Bank, added, "Woodforest is proud to participate in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Project REACh initiative. The MDI Keepers Fund is another way for us to strengthen MDIs who are critical to meeting the unmet financial needs of minority small businesses and families."

The Fund is managed by minority stakeholders who understand unique loan structural challenges of applicants and can work with MDIs to deploy capital to make the most impact. The Fund will support MDIs by providing patient Tier 1 Capital that strengthens the MDI sector of the community banking industry by providing MDIs with capital to grow and achieve higher levels of profitability. Woodforest's capital investment has a multiplier effect. According to MDI Keepers Fund, every $1 of capital invested in an MDI has the potential to generate $10 of new loans. Investments in an MDI can be leveraged into additional loans to small businesses, homeowners, and community organizations.