Where you choose to bank matters, and community banks are best positioned to serve your financial needs.
Community Banks like PONCE embrace their role as trusted, local financial advocates with a track record in helping underserved communities – helping customers throughout their financial journeys.
As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Minority Depository Institution (MDI), Ponce has always stood shoulder to shoulder with customers to stimulate the economy and support local communities with compassion, courage and commitment.
As Spring shows its growth and beauty,
I reflect on how Ponce Bank has helped sow, plant, and nurture within the community this past month.
We’re thankful for all the relationships we have formed within our homeplace of The Bronx and our communities throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Union City, NJ. It's an honor when our neighbors invite us to support their organizational missions, small business goals, and personal pursuits.
Happy Spring to all, including Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, who welcomed Ponce’s support for their Food Pantry Day; New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, who honored women in leadership roles; Mosaic Mental Health's Annual Run in support of Mental Health; and the Dominican Community Center NYC’s Prom Clothing Giveaway which provided so much joy to our community’s youth.
Here's to our communities blooming in bright colors.
Ponce’s Mission Oriented Strategy sees more than 80% of all deposits at Ponce Bank reinvested in the communities we serve.
As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Minority Depository Institution (MDI) Ponce serves minority-, low- or moderate- income (LMI) communities. One of fewer than 50 banks so designated in the U.S. Ponce Bank was recently rated the #1 Latinx Bank in the country for community investment by Mighty Deposits, an independent rating resource for mission-oriented banking.
As a mission driven bank, we play a role in transforming the lives of underserved citizens and communities by making loans and providing other vital banking products and services. We also ensure that residents and businesses in our communities have access to safe and affordable financial services.
Announcing: The Launch of Our New Website!
Carlos P. Naudon is President and CEO of Ponce Bank and its publicly traded financial holding company, Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ: PDLB). He is also President of the Ponce de Leon Foundation, endowed by Ponce Bank to support not-for-profits that contribute to financial, racial and climate equity within the communities that the Bank serves.
As President, Naudon has reinvigorated Ponce Bank’s 63-year mission to provide financial services to the underserved but highly deserving immigrant communities and low-and-middle income stakeholders in and around New York City and other similar communities.
Carlos was recently appointed to Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee (MDIAC) of The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Community Bank Advisory Council.
The MDIAC advises the OCC on steps the OCC may take to ensure the continued health and viability of minority depository institutions and other issues of concern to these institutions. The Community Bank Advisory Council advises CFPB on regulating consumer financial products or services and offering the unique perspectives of community banks. They share information, analysis, and recommendations to better inform our policy development, rulemaking, and engagement work.
He also sits on MDIAC for the New York Federal Reserve Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council, he is the Chairman of the Minority Institutions Council of the ICBA and serves on the board of the Independent Bankers Association of New York State. He is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Brooklyn Hospital Center and former Chairman of the Board of ModernMD, which has urgent care facilities throughout Brooklyn, NY.
Naudon has served as Regulatory Counsel and Advisor to many banks during almost 40 years as an Attorney and CPA focused upon banking law and he is owner and publisher of The Gold Book: The Manual of Bank Operations, long a trusted resource within the banking community.
Ponce Bank receives $3.7 million grant as part of CDFI Equitable Recovery Program NEW YORK, April 17, 2023 -
Ponce Financial Group, Inc., (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: PDLB), the holding company for Ponce Bank (the “Bank”), announced that the Bank has been awarded a $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Treasury as part of the Community Development Financial Institutions ("CDFI") Equitable Recovery Program ("ERP") which aims to help CDFI's further their mission of helping low and low-to-moderate income communities recover from the impact of Covid-19.
“There’s been a lot of talk lately about which banks are “systemically important” and I think that one just needs to read the purpose of this ERP program to understand that CDFIs like Ponce Bank are not just systemically important; we are critical to a huge swath of our society that isn’t supported by the traditional banking system” said Ponce Bank CEO Carlos Naudon.
He added “We proved throughout the pandemic that Community Banks, CDFIs and MDIs are able to strategically deploy capital, where it’s needed most, both quickly and efficiently. If that’s not systemically important then I’m not sure I understand the term.”
$1.73 billion in ERP Awards to 603 CDFIs were announced in Washington DC by Vice President Kamala Harris and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.
“When we invest in community lenders, we help build a future where all people—no matter who they are or where they start—have the resources they need not only to succeed but to thrive,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in a U.S. Treasury statement. “These grants—representing the largest CDFI grant program in history—will enable hundreds of community lenders to invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs, and also provide home loans for families, financial services for local nonprofits, and capital for community organizations.”
Ponce Bank has a long history of service to low and low-to-moderate income communities that these funds are targeted to support.
Financial Mastery
Financial Mastery (as we like to call it) plays a crucial role in increasing economic opportunity for all.
Financial Mastery is essential at all stages of our lives. In fact, both financial literacy and financial wellness are crucial to economic stability and success, but many don’t know the difference between the two.
- Financial Mastery refers to the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed financial decisions.
- Financial wellness includes the state of your overall personal finances and your ability to manage it effectively, including budgeting, saving, investing, and managing debt.
Visit Ponce U to learn more - from Banking 101, Saving for and Investing in your Future to Owning a Home, Preparing for Retirement or Small Business Essentials.
In addition to these online courses, Ponce Bank frequently partners with organizations to run financial mastery workshops. Being Ready Series, for example, is a program we developed to prepare small businesses and entrepreneurs for growth. Contact us to learn more
Community Highlights
Ponce Honored as Champion of Justice by John Jay College of Criminal Justice
As a #CommunityBank we’re committed to providing opportunities to youth. One of the ways we do this is to fund The Ponce Minority College Scholarships Program.
Today we are #PonceProud to share that we’ve been honored as one of three Champions of Justice by John Jay College’s Annual Champions of Justice Celebration!
Ponce received Community Partner of The Year Award during the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors (RASC) Service Awards Luncheon.
Regional Alliance For Small Business Contractors provides award-winning training programs, mentoring and consultant services to assist in advancing small businesses in the construction and construction related industry. The RASC Service Awards Luncheon is a signature fundraising event for the organization. It allows RASC to continue providing much needed services to MWLDBE’s, the SDVOB community and those who contribute towards improving the economy in our community.
Ponce is proud to partner with organizations like RASC to help small businesses through programs like CAP, CFP and Link deposit facilitated through NYS Empire State Development Corp. [for more information – contact CRO@poncebank.net]
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