CDFIs and Online Business Lending: A Review of Recent Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

The report, authored by Jack Northrup, Eric Hangen, and Michael Swack, looks at some of the issues CDFIs face as the fintech industry (technology companies involved in lending) grows and begins to target markets served by CDFIs

CDFIs Stepping into the Breach: An Impact Evaluation—Summary Report

This report summarizes research undertaken by the Carsey School of Public Policy to evaluate impacts of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund on CDFIs and of the CDFI industry on the people and communities it serves. In summary, we find a variety of evidence indicating that CDFIs are advancing the statutory purposes of the CDFI Fund to promote economic revitalization and community development through the provision of credit, capital and financial services to underserved populations and communities in the United State

CDFI industry analysis: summary report

The Carsey Institute, under contract to NeighborWorks® America and the U.S. Department of Treasury\u27s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, conducted a detailed analysis of a large sample of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) on issues of capitalization, liquidity and portfolio, and risk management by CDFIs from 2005 to 2010. This work is part of the CDFI Fund\u27s Capacity Building Initiative. The purpose of the report is to explore issues of capitalization, liquidity, and portfolio and risk management by CDFIs

CDFI industry analysis: summary report, 508 compliant version

The Carsey Institute, under contract to NeighborWorks® America and the U.S. Department of Treasury\u27s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, conducted a detailed analysis of a large sample of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) on issues of capitalization, liquidity and portfolio, and risk management by CDFIs from 2005 to 2010. This work is part of the CDFI Fund\u27s Capacity Building Initiative. The purpose of the report is to explore issues of capitalization, liquidity, and portfolio and risk management by CDFIs

Genes in glucose metabolism and association with spina bifida.

The authors test single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in coding sequences of 12 candidate genes involved in glucose metabolism and obesity for associations with spina bifida. Genotyping was performed on 507 children with spina bifida and their parents plus anonymous control DNAs from Hispanic and Caucasian individuals. The transmission disequilibrium test was performed to test for genetic associations between transmission of alleles and spina bifida in the offspring (P \u3c .05). A statistically significant association between Lys481 of HK1 (G allele), Arg109Lys of LEPR (G allele), and Pro196 of GLUT1 (A allele) was found ( P = .019, .039, and .040, respectively). Three SNPs on 3 genes involved with glucose metabolism and obesity may be associated with increased susceptibility to spina bifida

Association of retinoic acid receptor genes with meningomyelocele.

BACKGROUND: Neural tube defects (NTDs) occur in as many as 0.5-2 per 1000 live births in the United States. One of the most common and severe neural tube defects is meningomyelocele (MM) resulting from failed closure of the caudal end of the neural tube. MM has been induced by retinoic acid teratogenicity in rodent models. We hypothesized that genetic variants influencing retinoic acid (RA) induction via retinoic acid receptors (RARs) may be associated with risk for MM. METHODS: We analyzed 47 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that span across the three retinoic acid receptor genes using the SNPlex genotyping platform. Our cohort consisted of 610 MM families. RESULTS: One variant in the RARA gene (rs12051734), three variants in the RARB gene (rs6799734, rs12630816, rs17016462), and a single variant in the RARG gene (rs3741434) were found to be statistically significant at p \u3c 0.05. CONCLUSION: RAR genes were associated with risk for MM. For all associated SNPs, the rare allele conferred a protective effect for MM susceptibility

Association of folate receptor (FOLR1, FOLR2, FOLR3) and reduced folate carrier (SLC19A1) genes with meningomyelocele.

BACKGROUND: Meningomyelocele (MM) results from lack of closure of the neural tube during embryologic development. Periconceptional folic acid supplementation is a modifier of MM risk in humans, leading toan interest in the folate transport genes as potential candidates for association to MM. METHODS: This study used the SNPlex Genotyping (ABI, Foster City, CA) platform to genotype 20 single polymorphic variants across the folate receptor genes (FOLR1, FOLR2, FOLR3) and the folate carrier gene (SLC19A1) to assess their association to MM. The study population included 329 trio and 281 duo families. Only cases with MM were included. Genetic association was assessed using the transmission disequilibrium test in PLINK. RESULTS: A variant in the FOLR2 gene (rs13908), three linked variants in the FOLR3 gene (rs7925545, rs7926875, rs7926987), and two variants in the SLC19A1 gene (rs1888530 and rs3788200) were statistically significant for association to MM in our population. CONCLUSION: This study involved the analyses of selected single nucleotide polymorphisms across the folate receptor genes and the folate carrier gene in a large population sample. It provided evidence that the rare alleles of specific single nucleotide polymorphisms within these genes appear to be statistically significant for association to MM in the patient population that was tested

Expression of the neural stem cell markers NG2 and L1 in human angiomyolipoma: are angiomyolipomas neoplasms of stem cells?

Angiomyolipomas are benign tumors of the kidney which express phenotypes of smooth muscle, fat, and melanocytes. These tumors appear with increased frequency in the autosomal dominant disorder tuberous sclerosis and are the leading cause of morbidity in adults with tuberous sclerosis. While benign, these tumors are capable of provoking life threatening hemorrhage and replacement of the kidney parenchyma, resulting in renal failure. The histogenesis of these tumors is currently unclear, although currently, we believe these tumors arise from perivascular epithelioid cells of which no normal counterpart has been convincingly demonstrated. Recently, stem cell precursors have been recognized that can give rise to smooth muscle and melanocytes. These precursors have been shown to express the neural stem cell marker NG2 and L1. In order to determine whether angiomyolipomas, which exhibit smooth muscle and melanocytic phenotypes, express NG2 and L1, we performed immunocytochemistry on a cell line derived from a human angiomyolipoma, and found that these cells are uniformly positive. Immunohistochemistry of human angiomyolipoma specimens revealed uniform staining of tumor cells, while renal cell carcinomas revealed positivity only of angiogenic vessels. These results support a novel histogenesis of angiomyolipoma as a defect in differentiation of stem cell precursors

CDFIs Stepping into the Breach: An Impact Evaluation, Summary Report

The CDFI sector has grown rapidly since the mid-1990s, with approximately 1,000 CDFIs across the country today. Evaluations of their operations, including our own industry analysis, have generally painted a positive picture of the sector.1 Yet questions remain. Insufficient data and poor data quality—in part because of the relative newness of the sector—pose particular problems. Additionally, there is no single set of performance measures that can be applied to the CDFI sector as a whole. Instead, the field must develop a performance measurement framework that can beused as a tool to monitor the individual stakeholder relationships of each CDFI