National Conference of Black Mayors Receives Equity Commitment of $125 Million Dollar

[Nia Imani]

National Conference of Black Mayors Receives Equity Commitment of $125 Million Dollars From US Bank For Post-Hurricane Katrina Rebuilding Efforts

Washington, DC - (BlackNews.com) - US Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC) and the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) have joined forces to provide monetary resources to over 50 cities affected by Hurricane Katrina, as part of the Community Renewal Act of 2000 and the CDFI New Market Tax Credit Program.

"We felt the most effective way to respond to the devastation and destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina is to make a sustainable impact by preserving and rebuilding residential and commercial entities on behalf of the mayors we represent and their citizens," said Mayor Roosevelt Dorn, NCBM President and Mayor of Inglewood, California.




"The best method for us to accomplish our goal is through our Community Development Entity (CDE) by leveraging New Market Tax Credits," added Vanessa R. Williams, NCBM Executive Director.

"This New Market Tax Credit allocation will be used in Louisiana and in other blighted areas of Mississippi and Alabama to rebuild infrastructure and create lost jobs," Williams concluded.

The executive board of the NCBM will meet in Washington, DC, September 22-24 to discuss strategies for the launch of this initiative. A press conference is scheduled for 3:00pm, Thursday September 22 in the Zenger Room of the National Press Club.

The New Market Tax Credit Program (NMTC) permits taxpayers to receive a credit against Federal Income Taxes for making qualified equity investments in designated CDE's. Substantially all of the qualified Equity Investments must in turn be used by the CDE to provide investments in Low Income Communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39% of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period. Up to $3.5 billion in tax credits is available under the current round of the NMTC Program, which attracts private-sector capital investment into the nations urban and rural low-income areas.

iCapital Finance, Inc. of Irvine, California is a full-service Investment Bank that has expertise in NMTC and has worked with US Bancorp on other projects including NMTC initiatives in the State of New Jersey. US Bancorp has agreed to assist iCapital with its work in New Market Tax Credits and because of the need in these areas, iCapital requested the equity commitment from US Bancorp. iCapital is working with NCBM on other ongoing projects as well.

Randall Letcavage, Managing Director of iCapital states, "Over the past five years of the New Market Tax Credit Program there has never been a better use or opportunity for the program. The NCBM understands that for every dollar of Tax Credits given and the US Bancorp equity commitment we could see another $4 to $8 of additional leverage which means a potential of $700-800 million in future dollars to help recover from this catastrophic damage. iCapital is proud of act as the consultant and play a role in bringing these formidable groups together to help our country in a time of need."


ABOUT NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BLACK MAYORS
Established in 1974, the National Conference of Black Mayors, Inc. (NCBM) is a private, nonpolitical, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization. NCBM serves over 500 mayors, nationwide, who represent more than 30 million citizens. NCBM's mission is to enhance the executive management capacity of its members for the purpose of governing viable municipalities. NCMB is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. For more details, visit www.ncbm.org


ABOUT iCAPITAL FINANCE, INC
iCapital Finance, Inc. is a leading Investment Bank specializing in servicing Municipalities, Small Cap Public Companies and Middle Market Private Companies, offering a wide range of financial advisory services, including M&A, Equity and Debt Financing, Strategic Advisory, and Financial Consulting. iCapitals industry experience and financial resources have helped public and private companies as well as municipalities in the business and community development projects.

The information in this Press Release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor provisions of Federal Securities Laws. Investors are cautioned that such statements are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including the future financial performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will provide to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to successful performances of internal plans, the impact of competitors, and general economic risks and uncertainties.


PRESS CONTACT:
Dionne Mahaffey-Muhammad
National Conference of Black Mayors
dionnemahaffey@publicist.com
404-314-1715

Source: http://www.blacknews.com/pr/katrina801.html