Speaker Biographies
Greg Bischak manages the Office of Financial Strategies and Research at the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. He oversees research and analysis related to programmatic activity, development of performance data, and strategic research to ensure effective implementation of the CDFI Fund mission. Prior to joining the CDFI Fund, he was a senior economist for the Appalachian Regional Commission, where he directed economic development research. Bischak served as executive director of the National Commission for Economic Conversion and Disarmament and was for developing public education and policy research on economic conversion, defense employment impacts, disarmament, and industrial policy. He was also an economics professor at Ramapo College in New Jersey. Bischak is a member of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Science, and co-chair of the Transportation and Economic Development Committee. His research has been published in a wide variety of scholarly journals and publications. He received his PhD from the New School for Social Research.
John Broussard is director of the Business and Industry Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, currently serving as acting deputy administrator, business programs. Since December 2011, Broussard has been director of the Business and Industry (B&I) Division within Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) of USDA Rural Development in Washington, D.C., directing nationwide rural development activities of the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program of USDA Rural Development while administering a portfolio in excess of $8.5 billion. Prior to becoming division director, he served as the program director for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service for the State of Louisiana; guaranteed housing specialist for the Rural Housing Service (RHS) within Southwest Louisiana; county supervisor of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) in Lafayette and Shreveport, Louisiana, supervising FmHA program delivery in Lafayette and Caddo parishes; and assistant county supervisor in Abbeville and New Roads, Louisiana. Broussard attained a bachelor of science degree in agricultural business from Louisiana State University in 1981. He is past president of the National Association of Credit Specialists of USDA Rural Development and the Louisiana Association of County Supervisors. He served as zone representative for the National Association of County Supervisors (NACS), representing the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico.
William Bynum is chief executive officer of HOPE, a credit union (Hope Credit Union), loan fund (Hope Enterprise Corporation), and policy center (Hope Policy Institute) dedicated to improving lives in one of the nation's most impoverished regions. Since 1994, HOPE has provided financial services, leveraged resources, and shaped policies that have benefited more than 650,000 residents in the Delta and other distressed parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Bynum began his professional career by helping to establish Self-Help, a pioneer in the development finance industry, and later built nationally recognized programs at the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center. A recipient of the Aspen Global Leadership Network John P. McNulty Prize and University of North Carolina Distinguished Alumnus Award, Bynum served 10 years as chairman of the Treasury Department's Community Development Advisory Board, advising Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama on financial service matters. He chairs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Advisory Board and is a member of the U.S. Partnership for Mobility from Poverty, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Other board service includes NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Aspen Institute, Corporation for Enterprise Development, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, and Millsaps College.
Ann Carpenter is a community and economic development adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, specializing in housing and neighborhood revitalization. Her recent work includes studies on blight remediation and the loss of low-cost rental housing in the Southeast. Prior to joining the Atlanta Fed, Carpenter was a senior research associate in the Georgia Tech Research Institute's (GTRI) Socio-Technical Systems Division, where she focused on strategies for creating sustainable and resilient communities. Carpenter earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Michigan and master's and doctoral degrees in city and regional planning from Georgia Tech. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Bill Dana is the president and chief executive officer of the Central Bank of Kansas City, a $160 million community bank located in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri. The bank is a certified CDFI and has been rated "Outstanding" by the FDIC at its last five Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exams, dating back to 1995. Dana began his career as a teller and has worked in each and every phase of banking to his current position, which he has held for the past 25 years. He has been called upon to speak for many banking industry topics including compliance, community development, and bank profitability. He has spoken before the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Missouri Division of Finance, U.S. House sub-committees, numerous trade associations, and various banking organizations.
Annie Donovan was most recently chief executive officer of CoMetrics, a social enterprise that provides high-quality, affordable business intelligence tools to small businesses and nonprofits seeking to improve financial management, better measure social impact, and increase their capacity for innovation. Prior to CoMetrics, Donovan was senior policy adviser to the White House, working collaboratively with the Office of Social Innovation and the Council on Environmental Quality. She was part of a team focused on advancing impact investing, social enterprise, and impact data as key strategies for improving the social sector. Donovan has been chief operating officer of Capital Impact Partners, a certified CDFI. She led the company's efforts to build capacity in fundraising, policy, and innovation. Donovan has also been a thought leader and a board member of many of the highest performing organizations in the community development sector, including serving as president of the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition. She has published papers and articles for the National Academy for Public Administration, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Forbes, and the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. She has an undergraduate degree in economics and an MBA in finance.
Leah Douglass is vice president of sales and trading at the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) of Atlanta. She oversees the bank's funding desk and serves as the liaison for the CDFI and housing finance agency shareholders. She joined FHLBank Atlanta in 2004. Prior to joining FHLBank Atlanta, Douglass was a region manager for IPS-Sendero. Prior to that she was vice president, Funds Transfer Pricing-Budget and Planning Manager at AmSouth Bank. Douglass earned a bachelor of business administration from the University of Georgia and a master of business administration from Georgia State University.
As supervisory lender relations specialist in the Mississippi District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Rhonda Fisher provides leadership over a team that is the point of contact for the agency for the delivery of financial, management, and technical assistance to small businesses in the state of Mississippi. She manages the implementation of key economic and outreach programs committed to providing quality, customer-oriented programs and services to the small business community, lenders, and resource partners. The primary focus is to assist small businesses in their formation and growth to create jobs and play a vital role in the economic development of Mississippi. Fisher has in excess of 30 years of service with the SBA, during which she has held many positions, including loan liquidation assistant; loan specialist; chief, finance division; and lead marketing and outreach specialist. Fisher has been the recipient of performance awards, unit achievement awards, special act awards, and quality step increases. She has also been nominated for Mississippi's 50 Leading Business Women, nominated as Federal Employee of the Year, and awarded District Office Employee of the Year.
Arthur Fleming directs the Federal Home Loan Bank's (FHLBank's) community investment, economic development, and affordable housing products and services. Fleming has experience in a variety of financial services, legal, housing development, and academic roles. Before joining the FHLBank, Fleming was chief lending and investment officer for the Opportunity Finance Network Inc., a national CDFI. He also served as the senior director for the Southeast Region and Director of Housing Finance for the Fannie Mae Foundation; the senior vice president and managing director of housing initiatives at GMAC (or General Motors Acceptance Corporation); founder and executive director of the Community Financing Consortium Inc.; and an attorney/senior associate for the Florida Atlantic University/Florida International University Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems. Fleming earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State University and a master's degree in urban and regional planning and juris doctor from the University of Florida.
Donna J. Gambrell is the longest-serving and first African American woman to be appointed as director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). During her tenure from 2007 to 2013, the CDFI Fund experienced significant growth, more than doubling funding under its flagship program, and it strongly supported a CDFI industry responsible for providing affordable capital, credit, and financial services to low-income neighborhoods. Gambrell retired from federal government service in December 2013. Currently, she is a visiting, nonresident scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She is also a board member for Southern Bancorp Inc., in Little Rock, Arkansas, which is one of the nation's largest CDFIs as well as the model upon which the CDFI industry was founded. She also speaks and consults on issues related to consumer protection and community and economic development. In addition to her work at the Treasury Department, Gambrell served in several executive positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including deputy director for compliance and consumer protection. Gambrell received a BS degree from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and an MS degree from New York University.
Michael Grant is president of both the National Bankers Association and its foundation. He is also board secretary for the Minbanc Scholarship Fund for minority banks. Grant, a 1983 graduate of the Howard University School of Law, has authored two books: Beyond Blame: Race Relations in the 21st Century and Your Marvelous Mind, motivation for meaningful living. A corporate consultant for 15 years, Grant's firm, of which he was a co-owner, claimed as clients some of America's best known companies: Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels, McDonalds Corporation, Harrah's Casinos, Westin and Hilton Hotels, Dell Computers, the Cracker Barrel Corporation, and others. Grant is the recipient of numerous awards and citations, including the Golden Key Honor Society's Award for Outstanding Service and a listing in Who's Who in Washington, D.C. Grant served as a member of the Commission for the Future of the Tennessee Judicial System, president of the Nashville Branch of the NAACP, and chief fundraiser of the NAACP's Tennessee State Conference of Branches. He was co-founder of the Greater Nashville African-American Chamber of Commerce. Presently, he serves on the board of directors for the U.S. Black Chambers Inc. Grant authored a column for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), was twice featured in Black Enterprise Magazine, Ebony Magazine's 50 top leaders of national organizations. He has appeared twice on Tony Brown's Journal and on Roland Martin's news program.
Ken Hale is president and chief executive officer of the Bank of Montgomery (BOM) in Montgomery, Louisiana. He has been with the bank since he worked there part-time in high school and college. Hale built BOM from $18 million in assets with one location in 1994 to $285 million in assets with nine locations today. Hale is currently chairman elect for the Louisiana Bankers Association, and will next be chairman and finally past chairman. He has also been a member of the Louisiana Bankers Association PAC Board and the Independent Community Bankers and is president of the Consortium of Banks that work to purchase items in bulk to lower prices. He's also served with the Boys & Girls Club of Natchitoches, the Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Natchitoches Historic Foundation. He was president of the Northwestern University Foundation Board (NUFB) for three years and a member of NUFB for 10 years.
Jeannine Jacokes is chief executive officer of the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA), the national trade association of the community development banking industry. CDBA educates policymakers, regulators, legislators, and the general public on the work of community development banks. Jacokes concurrently serves as chief executive officer of Partners for the Common Good (PCG). As a national wholesale participation lender, PCG works with regulated and nonregulated CDFIs across the United States. PCG also operates CapNexus, an online platform designed to get capital to communities by matching aligned community development lenders, borrowers and capital sources. Jacokes previously served as a senior member of the management team at the U.S. Department of the Treasury's CDFI Fund and played a leadership role in designing and implementing the Fund's programs and operations. Formerly senior policy staff for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, she played a key role in drafting many of the laws that currently govern federal housing and community development programs and that impact the availability of credit in underserved markets. Jacokes began her career at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She holds a master's degree in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BA from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Robert E. James II serves Carver State Bank as its director of strategic initiatives and is a member of its board of directors. In these capacities, James is responsible for strategic planning for the bank, as well as its community development finance efforts. Since 2001, he has helped Carver raise nearly $5 million in community development awards to the institution and helped the bank earn more than $1 million for its participation in New Markets Tax Credit transactions. James is also a partner at the law firm Golden Holley James LLP. James, who is a member of the New York and Georgia bars, represents issuers and underwriters including the City of Savannah, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation, and many major bond underwriters as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, or underwriter's counsel. James is also president of Coastal Legacy Group LLC, a company he founded in 2004. Prior to founding Coastal Legacy Group, James served as general counsel of Diversiplex Inc., a management-consulting firm that helped Fortune 500 companies and government. James earned a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1995 and a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1992.
Michael Johnson is an executive vice president in the supervision and regulation division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. In this role, he oversees the Sixth District's supervision of state member banks, bank and financial holding companies, and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banking operations. Johnson has spent his entire career with the Federal Reserve System and served in a number of leadership roles within banking supervision, including senior vice president at the Atlanta Fed and vice president and managing director of the large institutions group at the San Francisco Fed. Prior to that, he was an assistant vice president and director of the risk monitoring and analysis group. He began his career at the Dallas Fed, where he spent 10 years in bank supervision. A collaborative leader, Johnson's experience in nearly all business lines and support functions in supervision and regulation has afforded him a broad perspective and continues to inform his belief that there are many different approaches to reach a common goal. In addition to his Atlanta Fed responsibilities, Johnson serves on the System's Supervision Committee and as co-chair of the Large Banking Organizations Management Group. A native of Texas, Johnson holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a bachelor of business administration, both from the University of Texas at Austin.
Will Lambe is the senior community and economic development adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He specializes in community development finance and has written and spoken on topics ranging from rural development finance, public-private partnerships, tax credit finance, the Community Reinvestment Act, and the EB-5 immigrant investor program. Prior to joining the Atlanta Fed, Lambe was director of community and economic development programming at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government, where he carried out research and advised local governments on public-private partnership structures to attract private investment into distressed real estate. He has published numerous articles and a book, Small Towns, Big Ideas: Case Studies in Small Town Community Economic Development. In 2015, Lambe was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship to travel and study public-private finance in China. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Atlanta Center for Leadership class of 2016. He holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master of public policy from Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.
Alden J. McDonald Jr. is president and chief executive officer of Liberty Bank and Trust Company, one of the top African American-owned financial institutions in the United States. McDonald oversees an expanding network of banking institutions serving urban communities and providing leadership in community development to a diverse customer base throughout America. He is recognized as a passionate advocate and dynamic catalyst in providing avenues for economic growth, home ownership, wealth building, and leadership development in the African American community. A graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Banking and of Columbia University's Commercial Banking Management Program, McDonald celebrates 50 years in banking this year. Following Hurricane Katrina, McDonald's extraordinary efforts in rebuilding the bank and providing guidance in the recovery of New Orleans has been chronicled in the New York Times. He was recognized as one of the most dynamic African American business leaders in Fortune Magazine, and he has been celebrated on numerous occasions in Black Enterprise magazine and several local and national publications. In addition, McDonald has served on the boards of numerous local, regional, and national institutions and agencies, including FannieMae, the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, the American Bankers Association, and more.
Robert W. Mooney recently retired as the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) national director for Minority and Community Development Banking in Washington D.C., where he directed efforts to preserve and promote minority depository institutions and CDFIs. He continues to work privately to promote this vital sector today. Previously, as deputy director for the Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, he directed the FDIC's national compliance examination, community, and consumer affairs programs. He served as senior advisor for consumer protection to both Chairman Shelia Bair and Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg, and represented the FDIC on several interagency Community Reinvestment Act and compliance committees in Washington. He is the author/co-author of several publications, including Side by Side, a Guide to Fair Lending, and A Guide to Lending to Women-Owned Small Businesses. And, he has testified before Congress as an expert on a range of topics, including financial education, affordable small dollar lending, and economic inclusion. Before joining the FDIC, Mooney held several executive positions in the banking industry, including regional vice president for Retail Banking, Mergers and Acquisitions, and vice president for Employee Relations. He was active in civic affairs, serving on the boards of directors and as president and treasurer of community development corporations, helping to found several, and numerous other civic organizations. He was awarded a commendation by the Massachusetts State Senate for his work in community development and equal opportunity.
Saurabh Narain, president and chief executive officer of the National Community Investment Fund (NCIF), joined the company in 2003. Under his leadership, the fund has become the largest equity investor (in numbers) in CDFI banks in the country. It has grown assets under management to $228 million (including $206 million in New Markets Tax Credit Program allocations) and has also pioneered the development of NCIF's Social Performance Metrics. He is involved in policy and advocacy for the industry through his board positions in the CDFI Coalition and memberships with the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council (2008–10) and the Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Council of the Officer of Thrift Supervision (2009–11). Prior to NCIF, Narain gained extensive experience in capital markets and risk management, working at Bank of America for almost 17 years based in Asia and the United States. Toward the end of his tenure in Hong Kong, he was head of marketing, non-Japan Asia, for global derivative products. He has done business in almost 10 countries in Asia and the United States, dealing with financial institutions, global multinational corporations, and governments. Narain is a graduate of the ABA Graduate Stonier School of Banking (2007), and holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (1985), and a bachelor of arts (honors) in economics from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi (1983), India.
Karama Neal, PhD, is chief operating officer at Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a CDFI loan fund promoting economic mobility in rural Arkansas and Mississippi. In addition to overseeing Southern's financial development services and public policy work, Neal serves on the boards of the Arkansas Literacy Council, Arkansas Access to Justice, and the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Neal studied biology at Swarthmore College and earned her doctorate in genetics from Emory University and her master's in bioethics from Loyola University Chicago. She completed impact investing executive coursework at the University of Oxford and lives with her family in Little Rock.
John Pender is the branch chief of the Rural Economy Branch, Resource and Rural Economics Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (ERS). Pender joined ERS in July 2009. His research focuses on concepts and measurement of farm and rural household wealth and well-being, and impacts of economic development programs and other policies on the U.S. rural economy. Prior to joining ERS he led research on rural development and natural resource management in developing countries at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Pender is a member of the American Agricultural Economics Association and the North American Regional Science Council. He received a PhD in agricultural and development economics from Stanford University, a master of public policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BS from the California Institute of Technology.
Sylvia H. Plunkett was appointed senior deputy director for the new Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) effective February 13, 2011, after having served as associate director of the FDIC's Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection from September 1, 2008. She was previously appointed to the positions of regional director for the Chicago region on May 14, 2006, deputy regional director (compliance) for the Dallas region on June 30, 2002, and regional director of the Memphis region of the Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs on August 31, 1994, when the new division was created. She joined the FDIC in 1978 in the Memphis region, where she held positions of examiner, review examiner, and assistant regional director. Her current duties include the management and oversight of the national compliance examination program. Plunkett, a native of Gulfport, Mississippi, is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor of science degree in business. She is also a graduate of the School for Bank Administration at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, the Federal Executive Institute's Leadership for a Democratic Society Program in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Leadership Decision Making course at the Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Aaron Seybert is a social investment officer at the Kresge Foundation. He supports the Social Investment Practice and the Detroit Program at Kresge. He joined the foundation in 2016. Previously, he served as executive director at JPMorgan Chase Bank, where he was involved with community development banking focused on New Markets Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credit investing. Seybert started his career in impact investing at Cinnaire (formerly the Great Lakes Capital Fund) addressing affordable housing, and previously worked with Legal Aid of Central Michigan. He has served on the board of directors for the Michigan Magnet Fund, Lake Trust Credit Union, and the Core Cities Strategic Fund advisory board. A native of Michigan, Aaron earned a bachelor in business administration in corporate finance and accounting from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and a juris doctorate from the Michigan State University College of Law.
Ed Sivak is HOPE's executive vice president of Policy and Communications. Sivak manages the strategic direction and implementation of HOPE's public policy activity and all internal and external communication with members, the media, investors, and other stakeholders. Over his 15-year career with HOPE, Sivak has testified numerous times before the Mississippi Legislature on the need for consumer protections from predatory small dollar lending and before federal banking regulators on rural community development. He has also been called on by local and national media to address policy issues affecting the mid-South. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, the Clarion Ledger, and the Mississippi Business Journal, as well as on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Sivak is a former member of the Federal Reserve Board Consumer Advisory Council, where he chaired the Community Affairs and Housing Subcommittee and a former member of the SBREFA Panel on Payday, Vehicle Title, and Similar Loans.
Jeff Stout is the director of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a program that funds state efforts to support private sector financing of small businesses. Prior to joining the Treasury in 2011, Stout was the senior vice president and director of business development for City First Bank of DC, a CDFI bank. Stout spent his early career leading two start-up companies. He earned undergraduate degrees in economics and philosophy from the University of Iowa and a master of public policy from Georgetown University.
Huey Townsend is chairman of the board of Guaranty Bank & Trust Company in Belzoni, Mississippi, and served as president from 1982 through 2015. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with degrees in banking and finance and accounting. He is a certified public accountant and worked for one of the national accounting firms before returning to Belzoni to join Guaranty Bank. He has been active with the Mississippi Bankers Association, where he has served as chairman and in several other positions. He has served on a national level with the American Bankers Association, for which he served on the board of directors and was vice chairman of the Regulatory Relations Task Force. He also served as a member of the CFPB Community Bank Advisory Council. He has been active in many state and local civic organizations.
Darrin Williams currently serves as the chief executive officer of Southern Bancorp Inc. Williams oversees the strategic direction and operations of each of Southern's three CDFIs: Southern Bancorp Inc., a bank holding company; Southern Bancorp Bank, one of America's largest rural development banks; and Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) development finance and lending organization—collectively known as "Southern." With an initial investment of approximately $10 million and a mission to create economic opportunity, Southern has grown to become one of the most effective and largest community development organizations in the United States. Today, Southern Bancorp is a $1.2 billion asset organization with more than 80,000 customers and 42 locations primarily in underserved markets in the mid-South. Prior to leading Southern, Williams served as managing partner at the law firm of Carney, Williams, Bates, Pulliam & Bowman PLLC, where he focused on representing institutional investors and consumers in class action litigation against some of the nation's largest publicly traded companies. Williams also served three terms of elected office in the Arkansas House of Representatives (2008–13), serving as speaker pro tempore of the 89th Arkansas General Assembly. Williams received his bachelor of arts degree from Hendrix College, his juris doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and his master of laws degree in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.
Max Yates is senior executive vice president and chief risk officer at BankPlus in Belzoni, Mississippi. He also serves on the board of directors of BankPlus and BancPlus Corporation, the bank's holding company. Yates graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in banking and finance and also from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. He has served on the board of directors of the Mississippi Bankers Association, where he also was a member of the executive committee. Yates currently is active on the MBA's legislative committee. He was elected to the Community Development Bankers Association board of directors in 2014. Today, Yates serves on the Mississippi Economic Council's Board of Governors and as the state trustee for the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. Prior to his position at BankPlus, Yates worked for 11 years in his hometown community bank serving primarily a low- to moderate-income population in a region that has among the highest unemployment rates in the United States. After his hometown bank merged with BankPlus in June 2000, he continued the effort to serve the lower Mississippi delta region and other parts of the state with traditional and innovative financial services.