Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and Inclusiv Partner to Make Historic Investment in Cooperativas to Advance Recovery and Resiliency in Puerto Rico
For Immediate Release
New York, NY (May 17, 2022) – Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and Inclusiv announced their partnership to make the first US capital investment into Puerto Rican cooperativas to strengthen recovery and resiliency initiatives.
Cooperativas, financial cooperatives in Puerto Rico, provide community-owned financial services to more than 1 million members excluded from mainstream financial institutions. As financial first responders, they have provided critical financial access and community resources, helping to lead recovery and resiliency efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and other crises.
Deutsche Bank announced the investment has been committed to Jesús Obrero Cooperativa, headquartered in Guaynabo, Puerto, a US Treasury certified community development financial institution.
"Deutsche Bank is proud to partner with Inclusiv to make this foundational step into funding cooperativas in Puerto Rico," said Cheryl Gladstone, Vice President and Head of the Community Development Finance Group at Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation board member, "This has been years in the making, and will be a truly significant investment for Deutsche Bank. This investment will support Jesús Obrero to continue its deep work in community providing a broad range of critical financial services. We hope that this investment catalyzes other investors into the space and spurs more funding to support the impactful work that cooperativas are doing in Puerto Rico."
"Inclusiv is grateful for the partnership with Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation in becoming the first US-based investor in Puerto Rican financial cooperatives, said Cathie Mahon, President/ CEO of Inclusiv. "Capital fuels the growth and impact of credit unions and cooperatives to meet the demand for safe and responsible financial services. This is a groundbreaking moment!"
"For Jesús Obrero, it is a great honor to become the first CDFI Cooperativa in the island to receive a capital investment from a world-class international bank such as Deutsche Bank," said Aurelio Arroyo González, CEO, Jesús Obrero Cooperativa. "A long road of due diligence, analysis, and validation of the soundness of our institution, coupled with an excellent perspective for the Puerto Rican cooperative movement, gave way to this historic investment. This investment will be directed towards expanding our financial inclusion initiatives, offering of financial products and services to our LMI communities. Furthermore, this demonstrates that Cooperativas are an ideal conduit to channel and deploy responsible investments for the benefit of the communities we serve."
"We are proud to have played a role in making this historic investment a reality. Financial cooperatives are engines of economic activity and financial inclusion for their communities. An investment in a member owned financial cooperative, is an investment in the people and communities they serve. This investment is a reflection of the soundness of our financial cooperative system. We invite other social impact investors to look at financial cooperatives as prime candidates for their impact investments" said Mabel Jiménez Miranda, Executive President at the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives (COSSEC), Puerto Rico's state cooperative regulator and insurer.
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For media inquiries, contact:
John Laycock, Director, Head of Media Relations, Americas Businesses, Deutsche Bank, jon.laycock@db.com
Cathi Kim, Director, Inclusiv/Capital, Inclusiv, ckim@inclusiv.org
About Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation administers the philanthropic activities of Deutsche Bank within the United States and Latin America. Together, the Bank’s Community Development Finance Group and Foundation carry out the firm’s corporate citizenship commitments through a program of loans, program-related investments and grants. Based in New York City the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that concentrate on community development, education, and social and creative enterprise.
About Inclusiv
At Inclusiv, we believe that true financial inclusion and empowerment is a fundamental right. We dedicate ourselves to closing the gaps and removing barriers to financial opportunities for people living in distressed and underserved communities. Inclusiv is a certified CDFI intermediary that transforms local progress into lasting national change. We provide capital, make connections, build capacity, develop innovative products and services and advocate for our member community development credit unions (CDCUs). Inclusiv members serve over 17 million residents of low-income urban, rural and reservation-based communities across the US and hold over $244 billion in community-controlled assets. Founded in 1974, Inclusiv is headquartered in New York, NY, with offices in Madison, WI, Atlanta, GA and Albuquerque, NM. For more information about Inclusiv visit us at Inclusiv.org and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Inclusiv was instrumental in establishing the CDFI Fund in 1994, is a permanent member of the national CDFI Coalition and is the CDFI and community finance authority for the credit union industry. Our member CDCUs represent over 10 million members in low-income communities across the US, representing the majority of all CDFI-certified credit unions. Today, CDFI certification is an essential credential for credit unions with a focus on financial inclusion. Inclusiv is the credit union industry's best resource for learning more about certification and technical and financial assistance grants. For more information on our advocacy on behalf of CDFI credit unions, click here.