Albina Community Bancorp Deploys $8.4 Million of New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Allocation to a Rural Oregon Wind Energy Project
August 20 2012 - 04:00PM
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.