The Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA) is administered by the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The BEA Program offers cash incentives to regulated banks and thrifts to invest in or make deposits with CDFIs like University Bank to further community development work in economically challenged neighborhoods.

In 2001, University Bank was designated as the first and only insured CDFI bank in Minnesota. Since that time, we have exceeded the U.S. Treasury's mandate that at least 60 percent of our loan portfolio be within federally designated low-income areas. In fact, more than 70 percent of our loans go to distressed communities.

Your deposits in University Bank could qualify your financial institution for BEA recognition. In 2002, eight financial institutions invested in University Bank through the program, resulting in significant BEA awards.

The BEA Program is a common-sense approach designed to help CDFIs increase deposits that ultimately benefit distressed communities. The BEA Program aims to financially support these communities and reduce their need for additional federal funding. Since its creation in 1996, the BEA program has granted over $205 million to hundreds of banks across the nation in support of their work for low-income communities.