Notice2026-20047
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Community Development Financial Institutions Program-Certification Application
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 30, 2026
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentCommunity Development Financial Institutions Fund
Abstract
The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), Department of the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the Community Development Financial Institutions Program--Certification Application, which Applicants will submit through the CDFI Fund's Awards Management Information System (AMIS).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61929-61930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-20047]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
[Docket No. CDFI-2026-0200]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Community Development Financial Institutions Program--
Certification Application
ACTION: Notice of Information Collection; and request for public
comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), Department of the Treasury, is
soliciting comments concerning the Community Development Financial
Institutions Program--Certification Application, which Applicants will
submit through the CDFI Fund's Awards Management Information System
(AMIS).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 30, 2026
to be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal
at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> Docket No. CDFI-2026-0200. Follow the
instructions on the website for the submission of comments. In general,
all comments will be available for inspection at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Comments, including attachments and other supporting materials, are
part of the public record. Do not submit any information in your
comments or supporting materials that you consider confidential or
inappropriate for public disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Shannon McKay, Acting Program Manager for the
Office of Certification Policy and Evaluation, CDFI Fund, U.S.
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC
20220 or by phone at (202) 653-0300. Other information regarding the
CDFI Fund and its programs may be obtained through the CDFI Fund's
website at <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov">http://www.cdfifund.gov</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Community Development Financial Institutions Program--
Certification Application.
OMB Control Number: 1559-0028.
Abstract: A certified Community Development Financial Institution
(CDFI) is a specialized financial institution that works in markets
that are underserved by traditional financial institutions. CDFIs
provide a range of financial products and services in economically
distressed target markets, such as mortgage financing for low-income
and first-time homebuyers and not-for-profit developers, flexible
underwriting and risk capital for needed community facilities, and
technical assistance, commercial loans and investments to small start-
up or expanding businesses in low-income areas. CDFIs include regulated
institutions such as community development banks and credit unions, and
non-regulated institutions such as loan and venture capital funds. CDFI
certification is a designation conferred by the CDFI Fund and is a
requirement for accessing Financial Assistance awards from the CDFI
Fund through the Community Development Financial Institutions Program
(CDFI Program), the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA
Program), and the Small Dollar Loan Program (SDL Program), and bond
guarantees through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, as well as certain
benefits under the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program), to
support an organization's established community development financing
programs. In order to be eligible to apply for the Capital Magnet Fund
Program, a bank must be a Certified CDFI.
The CDFI Fund is authorized by the Riegle Community Development
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-325, 12
U.S.C. 4701 et seq.) (the Act). The regulations governing CDFI
certification are found at 12 CFR 1805.201 (the Regulations).
Capitalized terms found in this notice are defined in the regulations
that govern the CDFI Program, at 12 CFR 1805.104.
Since 1997, the universe of Certified CDFIs has grown from 196 to
nearly 1,300 organizations, with nearly $437 billion in total assets
and headquarters in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Guam,
and Puerto Rico. The significance of CDFI Certification also has
increased over the years, as CDFI status has come to serve as a
qualifier for other Federal government and private sector programs and
benefits.
In December 2023, the CDFI Fund released a revised version of the
CDFI Certification Application which was the culmination of an effort
begun in January 2017 to ensure the CDFI Certification policies and
procedures continue to meet statutory and regulatory requirements, are
responsive to the evolving nature of the CDFI industry, and protect
government resources. Now that the CDFI Fund has reviewed close to
1,400 CDFI Certification Applications that used the revised version of
the Application released in December 2023, there are some additional
CDFI Certification policy changes, as well as changes to the CDFI
Certification Application and its supporting tools that the CDFI Fund
is seeking public comment on. These changes ensure CDFI Certification
is aligned with the Administration's executive orders and efforts to
reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within federal programs.
In the Basic Information Section of the Application, several
questions have been added to assess the Applicant's and any relevant
Affiliate's past administrative proceedings history and compliance in
other federal award programs. In addition, the subsection on ``BOARD
AND EXECUTIVE STAFF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION'' will be eliminated except
for two questions on the total size of governing leadership members and
total size of Executive Staff. In the Target Market Section of the
Application, ``Other Targeted Population--African American,'' ``Other
Targeted Population--Hispanic,'' ``Other Targeted Population--Other
Pacific Islander,'' ``Other Targeted Population--Filipino,'' and
``Other Targeted Population--Vietnamese'' will no longer be eligible
Target Market types. The CDFI Fund will no longer allow any Other
Targeted Population (OTPs) Target Market types that are based on the
race and/or ethnicity of the borrower. This policy change extends to
any Section Zero Application submission proposing approval of a new
Target Market type.
The CDFI Fund will revise the current CDFI Certification
requirement that in order to be certified as a CDFI, an entity must
maintain accountability to each component of its CDFI Certification
Market through board representation to instead replace board
representation with Target Market activity. As a result, the updated
version of the CDFI Certification Application will no longer
[[Page 61930]]
have a separate ``Accountability'' section or the separate subsection
on ``NATIVE COMMUNITIES ACCOUNTABILITY'' in the Native American CDFI
Designation section. Accountability will instead be measured through
the Target Market activity section of the CDFI Certification
Application.
There are other minor changes to question wording or answer choices
throughout the Application to better align the form with the current
version in AMIS. The CDFI Fund anticipates that the overall effect of
the changes to the Application will be a net reduction in burden to
Applicants.
Current Actions: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Type of Review: Regular.
Form: CDFI Certification Application.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit institutions, non-
profit entities, and State, local, and Tribal entities participating in
CDFI Fund programs.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 150.
Frequency of Responses: Annually.
Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 150.
Estimated Annual Time per Respondent: 55 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8,250 hours.
Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All
comments will become a matter of public record at <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov">http://www.cdfifund.gov</a>. The CDFI Fund is seeking input on the content of the
revised CDFI Certification Application. The application and related
guidance may be obtained on the CDFI Fund's website at <a href="https://www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/certification/cdfi/Pages/default.aspx">https://www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/certification/cdfi/Pages/default.aspx</a>. Comments are invited on: (a) whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information collected; (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information on respondents, including
through the use of technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up
costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to
provide information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person
is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the
collection of information displays a valid OMB control number.
In addition, the CDFI Fund requests comments in response to the
following questions:
1. Are certain questions or tables redundant or unnecessary?
2. Should any questions or tables be added to ensure collection of
relevant information?
3. Are there questions where the intent or the purpose of the
question is not clear? If so, which questions, and what needs to be
clarified in order to provide a comprehensive response?
4. Are there questions that would require additional guidance to
respond adequately? If so, which questions, and what type of
instructions would be helpful in order to be able to provide a
response?
5. With the proposed change to eligible Target Market types,
currently Certified CDFIs with an approved Target Market component of
``Other Targeted Population--African American'', ``Other Targeted
Population--Hispanic'', ``Other Targeted Population--Other Pacific
Islander'', ``Other Targeted Population--Filipino'', and/or ``Other
Targeted Population--Vietnamese'' will no longer qualify as Target
Markets for CDFI Certification and therefore, must seek approval to
serve one of the remaining eligible Target Market Components. The CDFI
Fund is planning on a one-year transition period for Certified CDFIs
that currently rely on a now-prohibited Target Market, to qualify under
one or more of the remaining eligible Target Market types. With the
exception of a longer transition period, is there anything that the
CDFI Fund could do to make this deadline more feasible for your
organization?
6. Currently Applicants are allowed to submit CDFI Certification
Applications at any time throughout the year. The CDFI Fund is
considering transitioning to a set submission schedule, which would
allow Applicants to submit CDFI Certification Applications only within
a specific time period on annual basis. Should the CDFI Fund transition
to an annual CDFI Certification Application cycle, similar to its award
programs?
7. Are there certain questions that should be added to the
Application to ensure CDFI Certification is adequately addressing the
Administration's concerns around waste, fraud, and abuse in federal
programs?
8. To strengthen the financial entity portion of the Application,
the CDFI Fund is considering whether to require the submission of
audited financial statements for any questions referencing the most
recently completed fiscal year balance sheets. What would the estimated
burden hours be for an institution to comply with this requirement?
9. Under current policy, in order to apply for CDFI Certification,
Applicants need to have closed at a minimum, one (1) financial product
in their proposed Target Market during their most recently completed
fiscal year prior to the CDFI Certification Application submission
date. The CDFI Fund is considering raising this threshold. What is a
reasonable threshold that Applicants should meet in order to be
eligible to apply for CDFI Certification? Should this threshold vary by
the financial institution type or other organizational defining
characteristics such as years in operation, financial product offerings
(i.e. residential mortgages v. small business loans v. small dollar
loans)?
10. In revising the Accountability requirement to be measured
through Target Market activity rather than board representation, the
CDFI Fund is evaluating whether minimum thresholds of Target Market
activity should be set for entities that are approved to serve more
than one Target Market type. What should be the minimum threshold per
approved Target Market type for an institution to comply?
(Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4703, 4703 note, 4704, 4706, 4707, 4717; 12
CFR part 1805.).
Dated: September 28, 2026.
Christopher Miller,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2026-20047 Filed 9-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 30, 2026.
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