April 13, 2016 — Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) joined the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and KeyBank in Washington, DC, on March 18 for the signing of a landmark $16.5 billion community benefits agreement. The KeyBank 2017 National Community Benefits Plan, signed at the 2016 NCRC Annual Conference, is the largest of its kind in recent bank merger and acquisition history. Laura Buxbaum, CEI’s Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Resource Development, participated in the signing with KeyCorp’s Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney and NCRC’s President and CEO John Taylor, along with community leaders from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Oregon.

“CEI was pleased to be at the table for these discussions and help to negotiate an agreement that will benefit low-income people and communities throughout KeyBank’s footprint,” said Laura Buxbaum. “The specific impacts on Maine remain to be seen, but CEI is committed to working with Key and other Maine partners who serve low-income communities to craft programs and investments that will help Key meet its ambitious goals and will result in direct benefit to the people who need it most. The commitment includes mortgage, small business and community development lending, and philanthropy in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. It will be carried out over five years, beginning in 2017.”

“KeyBank’s 2017 National Community Plan sets forth a significant and bold enterprise-wide strategy to help our clients and communities thrive. This agreement was mutually built – and will be mutually supported – by NCRC members and KeyBank,” said Sterling Kozlowski, president, Maine Market, KeyBank.  “When crafting the plan, it was of utmost important to keep local residents, organizations, and businesses at the forefront, including the residents of Maine.”

A summary of the agreement can be found here.

“Working Mainers are suffering from the recession and ongoing loss of traditional manufacturing jobs,” said CEI President and CEO Ron Phillips. “KeyBank has been an essential building block in CEI’s history of creating economic opportunity through access to flexible capital among entrepreneurs, and in rural regions in need of investment and support. The CBA will be a welcome resource throughout Key’s market regions, in Maine and elsewhere, and CEI hopes to bring forward jobs-creating projects that fulfill the purposes of the program and help stabilize Maine families.”

“This commitment is the result of a collaborative process with community members and bank leaders after months of give and take, resulting in a substantive and detailed commitment of resources and services to communities throughout the KeyBank and First Niagara Bank footprints,” said NCRC President and CEO John Taylor. “This success would have been impossible without the leadership of the highest ranks of the bank making a genuine commitment to increase banking access to traditionally underserved people. We applaud the leadership of KeyCorp’s Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney and Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility Bruce Murphy for encouraging a commitment that is a real win for everyone involved.”

In addition to NCRC, KeyBank, and CEI, the agreement was signed by the following organizations:

Avillage

Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region

New York State Rural Housing Coalition

Affordable Housing Partnership

Empire Justice Center

United North

Casa of Oregon

Greater Rochester Community Reinvestment Coalition

PathStone

City of Dayton Human Relations Council

Miami Valley Fair Housing Center

Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland

Ohio Fair Lending Coalition

PUSH Buffalo

Housing Research & Advocacy Center

VOICE-Buffalo

Dayton YWCA

Working in Neighborhoods

Niagara Organizing Alliance for Hope

Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley

Home Repair Resource Center

Western New York Law Center

Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group

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About CEI:
Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), is a mission-driven lender and investor specializing in rural economic development in Maine and throughout the U.S. CEI combines financing, advising services and policy leadership to help create economically and environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with low incomes, can reach their full potential. Learn more at www.ceimaine.org.

About KeyCorp:
Key traces its history back more than 160 years and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, Key has assets of approximately $95 billion. Key (NYSE:KEY) provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals, small and medium-sized business under the name KeyBank National Association. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name.Banking products and services are offered by KeyBank National Association. Key.com is a federally registered service mark of KeyCorp. ©2015 KeyCorp. KeyBank is Member FDIC. Credit applications are subject to credit approval.

About NCRC:
NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. We work with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business development.