Encore Bank outlines CRA-focused mortgage and small-business programs for Pinellas and Hillsborough

At a Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency meeting, Jose Bello, community outreach officer for Encore Bank, described the bank's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) work and products targeted to low- and moderate-income census tracts in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

Bello said Encore is assessed by federal regulators under the CRA and focuses lending and community programs in geographic assessment areas that include parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough. He said the bank offers mortgage products that in some cases provide high loan-to-value financing (up to 100 percent financing) for homes with purchase prices up to $550,000, with no private mortgage insurance (PMI) on the highest-LTV product. He also described a down-payment grant partnership (a tranche provided through a Federal Reserve Bank partner often referred to as a "help fund") that can provide grants up to $20,000 to eligible buyers; Bello said Encore had roughly $750,000 available to deploy in the first quarter under that program.

Bello described other homeowner-facing features: an ITIN mortgage program that allows noncitizen borrowers with work authorization and taxpayer ID numbers to access mortgage financing, and flexibility on credit-score thresholds with an illustrative minimum score of about 640 for many programs. On income- and geography-based eligibility, Bello said the bank uses federal FFIEC mapping tools to determine whether an address falls in a low- or moderate-income census tract and noted that census-tract boundaries can split neighborhoods.

On small-business lending, Bello said Encore offers lines of credit and loans ranging from about $3,500 up to $250,000 for businesses with revenue under $1 million when located in an "IMI" (low- or moderate-income) census tract. He emphasized that the bank prefers customers to have deposit relationships with the bank (a checking or savings account) so the lender and borrower have "skin in the game." Bello said Encore works with local nonprofit partners and is open to referrals from CRA stakeholders to find eligible borrowers and co-invest in deals.

Bello also described how grant tranches from partner institutions are attached to mortgage applications; he said the partner program distributes funds quarterly and when the tranche runs out those grants are exhausted until the next allocation. He encouraged attendees to contact him and left business cards for follow-up.

Quotes and examples from the presentation Bello said, "We're a local bank with a good presence, especially with a C.R.A. presence." He added that some products allow for 100 percent financing "so that means that you were financing the entire amount, you would not have to have a down payment." On credit eligibility he said, "typically you're looking at about 640" for many programs. He urged community partners to refer interested borrowers and advised, "One size does not fit all," saying bank staff will look at multiple options when working with a borrower.

Bello answered questions about county-level DPA programs and said the bank's assessment area spans Pinellas and Hillsborough; local down-payment-assistance availability depends on municipality and county programs and the bank will coordinate to add grants to mortgage applications when eligible.