SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - In late February 2020, the Sacramento County Department of Finance put out a call for applications for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) program. This year, the County Treasury invested a record amount of money in financial institutions with a local presence that meet the credit needs of the community. 

In addition to putting out a call for applications, the Department of Finance actively reaches out to all banks operating at least one branch in the County to let them know that the CRA Program is accepting applications. 

“This year, we awarded four banks with deposits,” said Dave Matuskey, Sacramento County Investment Officer. “Each bank received $20 million for a total investment of $80 million. This is a big increase from the $30 million total that went to the same number of banks in the program last year.”

The increased investment amount is due in part to a change that was made that allow regional and community banks to more easily qualify for larger deposits. 

The CRA Program authorizes the placement of public deposits from the County’s Pooled Investment Fund in one-year, fixed-rate certificates of deposit with qualified financial institutions that meet the credit needs of the community, including credit unions and community banks.

The four banks that were awarded deposits this year are: Bank of the West, Banner Bank, East West Bank, Five Star Bank

To learn more about the CRA Program, view the online brochure or check out the Department of Finance’s Investments page.