Filling the Lending Gap

Martin is confident that Twin Cities Community Capital Fund will increase its loan volume over the next few years. He points out that, because of increasing regulation of the finance industry and an uncertain money supply, most economists predict continued tightening of credit markets. The result, Martin expects, will be more businesses and nonprofits looking for nontraditional sources of funding and perhaps even higher bank and commercial lending rates, which would make the fund’s rates more attractive.

“And word is getting out,” Martin says. The fund is only three years old, and the summer of 2008 saw an approximately 30 percent increase in inquiries and applications over the previous summer. As more bankers learn about and use Twin Cities Community Capital Fund, Martin says, the more they tell other bankers and come back to the fund themselves. Soon, he hopes, the gap between the fund’s potential and reality will be filled.