LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Founders Steven Sugarman and Faith Bautista announced today the launch of The Capital Corps, LLC (“The Capital Corps”), a California based financial institution focused on providing access to capital to diverse homeowners and small businesses, including those with non-traditional prime credit needs currently unserved by banks and traditional financial institutions. Mr. Sugarman and Ms. Bautista will be joined by co-Founder Jeffrey Seabold and an experienced team of bankers and lenders to serve this marketplace. Additionally, The Capital Corps made the following announcements today:
- The Capital Corps has formed strategic partnerships with the National Diversity Coalition and the National Asian American Coalition to expand the reach of its programs and ensure the programs are appropriately tailored to the needs of their members.
- The Capital Corps has appointed Faith Bautista as Chair of its Community Advisory Board and named Jin Sung, Jeff Lim, Pastor Mark Whitlock and Gil Vasquez founding members.
“The launch of The Capital Corps is the realization of a commitment I was proud to announce alongside President Clinton, Mayor Villaraigosa, and the California Reinvestment Coalition in 2015. We pledged to collaborate with community leaders to create a lending platform focused on providing access to capital to credit-worthy borrowers who need it most. Our goal was to reshape lending under the Community Reinvestment Act to be more impactful to underserved communities with better risk adjusted returns for banks. It gives me great pride today to make good on that commitment.” Said Mr. Sugarman.
Mr. Seabold stated, “The Capital Corps will focus on ensuring its lending platform is scalable, financially strong and the leader in non-traditional prime lending. We seek to meaningfully expand access to capital to the over $100 billion of diverse borrowers that are currently unserved by banks.”
To ensure The Capital Corps has robust financial strength and stability, we will seek certification as a community development financial institution by the U.S. Department of Treasury and membership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.
Mr. Sugarman continued, “Employees, borrowers, and the diverse communities we serve must know that their lenders will be there to finance their homes and businesses during all seasons and all cycles, and will not cut and run over short term pressures. The Capital Corps team has demonstrated their commitment to the communities we serve over the long haul. We have set up our governance and structure to maximize our ability to serve all borrowers safely and soundly for decades to come. We couldn’t be more excited to be recruiting partners – capital, community, employee, and strategic – who are authentic, passionate, and mission-driven.”
Founder Faith Bautista, Chief Executive Officer of the National Diversity Coalition, remarked: “I have worked for years to find ways to encourage hundreds of banks to expand their community development efforts to low income and minority communities that are left out of the system. Steven Sugarman was the rare bank CEO who found innovative ways to help our members while ensuring his bank was protected and profitable. That is why he was the first banker who earned the National Diversity Coalition’s highest honor: The Giraffe Award. The award is given to the person willing to stick their neck out for the benefit of doing the right thing for the community. He has the integrity, community commitment, and financial experience that we need. We are grateful to partner with Steven and his team for the benefit of the diverse borrowers who are currently left underserved by traditional banks.”
Jeff Lim, CEO of Island Pacific Supermarkets and Co-Chair of NAAC, stated “Mr. Sugarman and Mr. Seabold helped me grow Island Pacific into the second largest Filipino supermarket in the country through their lending, advise and support. I am thrilled to partner with them to expand access to capital to the next generation of minority owned businesses and entrepreneurs, and to attract capital and build operations in a sound, scalable way.”
In order to ensure that The Capital Corps appropriately meets the evolving needs of the diverse borrowers and communities it serves, it has launched a Community Advisory Board that will provide oversight and advice relating to portfolio lending programs, servicing strategies, and client acquisition and outreach.
The Capital Corps will serve non-traditional prime borrowers by returning to more traditional methods of underwriting residential real estate focusing on the 5-C’s of credit – including a borrower’s character. In its credit decisions, The Capital Corps will place special emphasis on the borrower’s character as opposed to narrow service-bureau-driven credit analytics deployed by banks during the recent credit crisis. The Capital Corps will partner with banks who wish to promote community development goals through lending to underserved communities including low income individuals and communities, borrowers with limited access to capital including African-Americans, Hispanics, underserved Asian populations, women-only borrowers, and borrowers with limited relevant credit histories.
About The Capital Corps, LLC
The Capital Corps, LLC empowers diverse small businesses, entrepreneurs and homeowners to pursue their dreams by expanding access to prime capital for non-traditional borrowers. The Capital Corps focuses on lending secured by residential real estate and provides credit counseling services to its borrowers. The Capital Corps has partnerships with the National Diversity Coalition and the National Asian American Coalition and community leaders to actively participate in the lending process through their Community Advisory Board to ensure its lending programs appropriately reflect the needs of the communities it serves. The Capital Corps’ team is led by its Founders Steven Sugarman and Faith Bautista and co-Founder Jeffrey Seabold. For more information: http://www.thecapitalcorps.com
About The National Diversity Coalition
The National Diversity Coalition is an official 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization which is comprised of community organizers, faith-based leaders, nonprofit directors, and business owners working collectively for greater financial equality and empowerment for underserved groups. Together we work with corporate and government leaders to advocate for greater opportunities in homeownership, small business, and financial literacy for all people. For more information: http://www.nationaldiversitycoalition.org