PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Albina Equity Fund I, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albina Community Bancorp (OTCBB:ACBC), announced today that it deployed $8.4 million of New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to an Oregon wind energy project, Lime Wind Holdings, LLC, located in Lime, Oregon. Albina partnered with Wells Fargo and Reoder & Company to structure a transaction that utilized the credits as part of the permanent financing of the wind farm.
“The placement of $8.4 million in NMTC allocations generated $518,000 of net fee income for Albina, of which $302,000 will contribute to third quarter revenues,” said Cheryl Cebula, President and Chief Executive Officer of Albina Community Bank. “The remaining $216,000 will be deferred over the next 6 years, generating annual fee income of $36,000.” Albina Community Bank is the only certified community development bank headquartered in Portland, and is a subsidiary of Albina Community Bancorp.
Lime Wind Holdings is in Albina’s home state of Oregon. The NMTC facilitated the permanent financing of a 3 MW community-scale wind energy facility, consisting of six Nordtank 500 KW refurbished turbines and related equipment. The project is the first wind project built on federal land in Oregon and the first utilizing rebuilt turbines to receive Oregon State Energy Loan Program (SELP) funding.
“Albina has been considering a number of qualified projects, and we were delighted to find this community scale renewable energy project, located in Lime, Oregon,” added Cebula. “Leveraged transactions of this type spur social and economic development in our region. We are grateful to receive CDFI funding, because we know how beneficial these targeted tax credits can be to help revitalize struggling communities and businesses.”
In 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund awarded Albina Equity Fund I, LLC, $10 million of NMTC allocation. The NMTC program spurs new or increased investments into operating businesses and real estate projects located in low-income communities, which provides a 39% tax credit to investors over a period of seven years.
“The New Market’s program is a vital tool for channeling investments into low-income communities; and we will continue to look for qualifying community development projects to utilize our remaining $1.6 million in NMTC allocation,” added Cebula. The NMTC allocation permits Albina to allocate these credits to investors in qualifying projects in economically distressed urban and rural communities throughout the state of Oregon. Albina collects fees for facilitating and managing these investments throughout the investment period.
About Albina Equity Fund, Albina Community Bank and Albina Community Bancorp
Albina Equity Fund is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albina Community Bancorp, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certified bank holding company. The primary mission of Albina Community Bancorp and its subsidiaries is to serve the needs of low-income communities. Albina Community Bank, the holding company’s first subsidiary, is a locally owned, full-service, independent commercial bank committed to investing in individuals, families, businesses and local neighborhoods. The Bank promotes community development by providing products and services and banking solutions that are directed towards improving the social or economic conditions of underserved peoples or residents of distressed communities. Albina offers a wide range of competitive banking solutions, while also maintaining its mission to promote jobs, growth of small businesses, and wealth in our local Portland neighborhoods. Track Albina’s community involvement by viewing its scorecard at: www.albinabank.com/company/scorecard.cfm.
Albina Community Bank opened in December 1995 as the sole subsidiary of Albina Community Bancorp. Albina is one of approximately 60 commercial banks across the United States certified by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund as a community development financial institution. Albina is the only CDFI-certified commercial bank headquartered in Oregon. Albina operates from five local Portland locations including offices at: 2002 Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; 8040 North Lombard in the St. Johns neighborhood of North Portland; 4020 Northeast Fremont Street in the Beaumont neighborhood; 5636 Northeast Sandy Boulevard in the Rose City Park neighborhood of the International District; and 430 Northwest 10th Avenue in Portland’s Pearl District; and a remote ATM at New Columbia in North Portland. For more information about Albina Community Bank, please call 503-287-7537 or visit www.albinabank.com.