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Wells Fargo Loans $750,000 To Indian Land Capital Company
Jan. 8, 2007
Wells Fargo & Company is the lead bank investor financing the Indian Land Capital Company (ILCC), a developing lending company created to help tribes nationwide buy back land that once belonged to them. Approving a $750,000 commitment under the Community Reinvestment Act to the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, unsecured at 2 percent for five years, interest only, Wells Fargo participates in the development of the ILCC alongside the ILTF and the Native American Community Development Corporation.
"As a leader in serving the financial needs of America's tribal nations for more than 30 years, Wells Fargo is pleased to be the first financial institution to participate in Indian Land Capital Company's new loan fund to help tribes buy back land that was once part of their reservations," said Kernit Grimshaw, Wells Fargo Community Banking President in Mission, S.D., and an ILCC board member.
To borrow from the ILCC, tribes are asked to invest an amount equal to a small percentage of their loan as equity capital. These borrower shares will earn a modest rate of return and be cashed out upon repayment of the loan.
Additional support includes $250,000 from the Indian Land Tenure Foundation to support general operations and staffing, along with another $1.5 million for the loan fund itself. The ILTF operates as a hybrid between a community and operating foundation, providing technical and limited financial assistance to tribes in the form of small grants to aid in the development and implementation of sound strategic land use plans for reservations. Similarly, the NACDC has provided expert legal counsel throughout the development stages, and will continue to support the ILCC with its expertise in banking, business and housing development.
In 2003, both organizations began to work together to create a fund to serve as a new tribal finance lending organization. Wells Fargo provided technical assistance on underwriting standards, loan loss reserves and investor relations.
In developing its strategy, ILCC worked with four tribes with model land programs: the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Land Division (Montana), Rosebud Tribal Land Enterprise (South Dakota), Umatilla Land Acquisition Project (Oregon and Washington), and Yakama Nation Land Enterprise (Washington).
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