Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (Clearinghouse CDFI) said Thursday it secured a $100 million allocation through a U.S. Department of the Treasury program intended to expand long-term credit for projects in underserved U.S. communities.
The Community Development Financial Institutions Bond Guarantee Program provides debt, not grants. Qualified issuers sell bonds and lend the proceeds to community development financial institutions (CDFIs); Treasury guarantees 100% of the loans, which can run for up to 30 years. Treasury says the program is designed to make lower-cost financing available over longer periods for community development.
Treasury has made up to $500 million in fiscal 2026 guarantee authority available, contingent on final congressional appropriations. Each guarantee must be at least $100 million. Clearinghouse CDFI’s announcement does not say whether its allocation belongs to that round; it also omits the bond issuer, interest rate, maturity and planned disbursement timetable.
Douglas Bystry, the lender’s founder, president and CEO, said the company hopes to direct some of the funding to housing for steel workers and their families in Mississippi County, Arkansas. The company did not identify a specific project there.
Since 1996, Clearinghouse CDFI says it has lent $2.8 billion through more than 2,770 projects. It attributes more than 45,250 jobs created or retained, 14,000 affordable housing units created or preserved, and direct benefits to 5.2 million people to that work.
The company said it repaid its first $100 million bond under the program in March 2026. The financing dates to 2014; Treasury’s award notice describes a $100 million guarantee on a bond issued by Opportunity Finance Network. Clearinghouse CDFI reported that 81 loans tied to the bond distributed $196 million across eight states, creating 2,253 permanent and construction jobs, retaining 725 jobs, and creating or preserving 718 affordable housing units.
Treasury’s program page lists Fall 2026 as the expected announcement window for its fiscal 2026 round. The agency’s awards page gives fiscal 2024 as its latest detailed announcement and does not name Clearinghouse CDFI’s allocation.
