History of Impact

Key events in NCB’s history from our establishment by an Act of Congress in 1978 to the present. NCB has 30 years of proven impact across the country and in the cooperative community.

1975: 

  • A group of cooperative leaders sets out to provide a dependable source of financing for cooperatives not eligible to use the existing U.S. cooperative finance system.
 

1978: 

  • In August of 1978, Congress passes legislation creating the National Consumer Cooperative Bank (NCCB), a financial institution dedicated to consumer and small business cooperatives. The Bank Act also calls for the creation of the Office of Self-Help Development and Technical Assistance to provide start-up and development aid to new cooperatives.
 

1980: 

  • National Consumer Cooperative Bank and the Office of Self-Help officially open for business on March 21, 1980.
  • In its first year, NCB originates slightly less than $10 million in loans to a customer base composed largely of natural food cooperatives and a handful of New York City housing cooperatives.
  • NCB's first commercial loan is to Chicago's Hyde Park Co-op and its first real estate loan is to the University Students' Cooperative located in Berkeley, California.

1981: 

  • After talk of canceling the Bank's charter, Congressional and cooperatives leaders reach consensus. On December 31, legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan officially privatizes National Consumer Cooperative Bank as a cooperative financial institution owned by its customer-stockholders.

1982: 

  • The Office of Self-Help is incorporated as a District of Columbia nonprofit called the Consumer Cooperative Development Corporation.

1983: 

  • NCCB sells co-op housing underlying mortgages on the secondary market for the first time.  Freddie Mac purchases the two-loan package.

1984: 

  • NCCB opens an office in Anchorage, Alaska to meet the needs of Alaska native-owned enterprises which, like traditional cooperatives, operate for the benefit of their members.
  • NCCB convinces Fannie Mae to start purchasing cooperative apartment mortgages (share loans).
  • Bank announces its intention to seek additional funding from the capital markets.

1985: 

  • NCCB starts doing business as National Cooperative Bank (NCB) to symbolize a transition from an organization in the public sector to a competitive market-oriented private financial institution.
  • Consumer Cooperative Development Corporation changes its name to NCB Development Corporation (NCBDC).
  • NCB secures it first $50 million line of credit from the capital markets. The funding ensures NCB's continued expansion of lending activities. 

1986: 

  • NCB registers with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The move subjects NCB to standardized quarterly reporting and disclosure requirements giving the bank the characteristics of a public company in the eyes of Wall Street.
  • NCB performs its first private placement, a funding for the consumer-owned outdoors cooperative, REI. 
  • NCBDC capitalizes the Kaplan Fund at $500,000 with matching funds from the Kaplan Foundation. The revolving loan fund is to help foster the development of senior housing.

1987: 

  • NCB's loans outstanding reach $270 million, representing a cross-section of markets that are representative of basic community needs: grocery, retail goods and services, healthcare, housing, childcare, education, energy and manufacturing.

1988: 

  • NCB acquires Anchor Savings and Loan Association of Hillsboro, Ohio. Renamed NCB Savings Bank, FSB, the acquisition allows NCB to offer depository services to its customer base on a nationwide basis, and serves as a funding window for its co-op apartment financing (share loan) business.
  • NCB and NCBDC form Project LEND (Lenders Efforts for Nonprofit Development) with Washington, DC-area financial institutions. The consortium commits to fund a variety of local community development projects including limited-equity housing cooperatives.

1989: 

  • NCB syndicates its first loan facility for a cooperative hardware wholesaler bringing in four national and international financial institutions.
  • President George Bush signs into law a bill that clarifies the terms and conditions by which NCB will repay the $184 million in Class "A" notes owed to the federal government. Based on the agreement, the notes will be repriced in October, 1990, positively impacting NCB's future cost of funds.

1990: 

  • NCB moves towards niche market specialization, replacing a previous regional focus. By focusing on specific markets and industries on a national basis, NCB can offer greater knowledge and expertise about the competitive environments in which its customers operate.
  • NCBDC begins to work with first-stage ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans). The worker ownership philosophy of ESOPs is a natural extension of NCB's cooperative ownership expertise.

1991: 

  • Institutional investors purchase $47.6 million in NCB-originated cooperative housing underlying mortgages.
  • NCB publishes the NCB Co-op 100, the first and only report of its kind, to highlight the top 100 cooperative businesses in the United States and raise the profile of co-ops nationally.

1992: 

  • NCB holds its first public sale of cooperative housing underlying mortgages which carry AAA ratings from Standard & Poor's and Duff & Phelps. Institutional investors snap up the $93 million package in less than one day.
  • NCBDC launches the first of its kind affordable assisted living demonstration project, known as the Coming Home Program, with a $6.2 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  • Recognizing the integral bond between the retailer and wholesaler, NCB creates a team to develop small business member loan programs for its commercial co-op customers, from grocery and hardware wholesalers to franchisee-owned purchasing cooperatives.

1993: 

  • NCB arranges first public sale of affordable housing loans, consisting of $26 million in limited-equity housing underlying mortgages.
  • In its biggest public sale to date, NCB sells some $97 million in mortgage-backed securities composed of cooperative housing underlying mortgages. Once again, the securities are rated AAA by Standard & Poors and Duff & Phelps.

1994: 

  • NCB and NCBDC originate nearly $26 million in affordable housing loans, a record amount, bringing the number of affordable homes financed to more than 22,000.
  • NCB starts the "Baby Blanket" Loan Program, lowering the cost of underlying mortgages for smaller New York housing cooperatives with set fees and a streamlined application process.
  • NCB unites with a select group of banking partners to meet the capital needs of an underserved niche – nonprofit, community-based healthcare and senior living communities.

1995: 

  • NCB unveils the Community Association Loan Program, expanding its capital improvement financing to condominium, homeowner and townhouse associations. The program, the first of its kind nationally, provides multifamily ownership communities with a welcomed new option to pay for expensive, large-scale repair projects.
  • NCB closes largest commercial transaction to date – a $58.2 million syndication for a grocery retail member of a wholesaler cooperative.

1996: 

  • NCB receives investment grade ratings on its long-term debt from Moody's and Duff & Phelps.
  • NCB securitizes $315.2 million in cooperative housing underlying mortgages, almost three times larger than any prior NCB securitization transaction, and the largest securitization of cooperative loans by any financial institution in 1996.
  • NCB launches www.ncb.com creating its first presence on the Internet.

1997: 

  • NCB and NCB Savings Bank join together to complete their first bulk sale to Wall Street, selling $19 million in co-op apartment share loans.
  • NCB enters the low-sold housing co-op segment in New York, providing $38 million to help strengthen the financial liquidity of this underserved niche.
  • NCB receives commercial paper ratings from Standard & Poor's and Duff & Phelps.

1998: 

  • NCB assets top $1 billion.
  • NCB invests in SPP Capital Partners, LLC. The strategic partnership allows NCB to efficiently provide for the larger capital needs of its commercial customers through private placements.
  • NCB Savings Bank completes first delivery into the Fannie Mae Majors Program, to provide even better interest rates for co-op share loan customers.
  • NCB and SPP Capital Partners, LLC complete a $93 million private, senior note placement for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, the first private placement by an Alaska Native corporation and the first transaction through the NCB and SPP Capital partnership.

1999: 

  • NCB reaches its long-term goal of providing financing to cooperatives and their members in every state in the union.
  • NCB applies its considerable commercial real estate lending experience to a new market segment: commercial customers. This mortgage banking product enables the origination of commercial real estate loans at lower rates and on longer terms.
  • NCBDC receives second grant of $6.5 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build upon success of the first Coming Home Program. The new program will focus on policy and education initiatives to promote the growth of affordable assisted living in rural communities.
  • NCB joins forces with the National Association of Housing Cooperatives and other housing associations to form the Cooperative Housing Coalition in order to have a positive impact on housing-related public policy.

2000: 

  • NCB is accorded primary, master and special servicing ratings for loans secured by housing cooperatives. The ratings by FitchRatings are in recognition of NCB's specialized knowledge of the co-op real estate market. They also confirm NCB's strategy of retaining the right to service the loans it sells to investors.
  • NCB joins Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley in a $1.1 billion sale of commercial mortgage-backed securities.
  • NCB creates NCB Financial Advisors, the only financial advisory services focused solely on the capital needs of nonprofit organizations.

2001: 

  • NCB Savings Bank, FSB is renamed NCB, FSB to reflect its national, diversified financial offerings.
  • NCB tops its prior record for a single underlying mortgage with $72.5 million provided to an ocean-front housing cooperative in Santa Monica, California.
  • NCB launches the $136 million Retail Grocery Loan Program with partners, Rabobank and MBIA, Inc. The only conduit of its kind dedicated to independent grocery retailers, the program – based on NCB's original one in 1995 – strengthens the flow of competitively priced capital to help grocers expand their stores and update systems.
  • NCB is chosen as a national lending partner for a number of member-driven organizations, including Ace Hardware and Yorkshire Global Restaurants – parent company of Long John Silvers and A&W Restaurants.
  • NCB's subsidiary, NCB Financial Advisors completes a $49.2 million capitalization for NPR helping the national radio organization refinance existing debt to save $800,000 a year and acquire a new West Coast production facility.
  • NCB becomes a .coop founder, the Internet top level domain exclusive to cooperatives.

2002: 

  • On January 1, 2002, NCB merges its real estate activities into NCB, FSB. The move enables NCB to decrease its reliance on capital markets funding by utilizing NCB, FSB's deposit base and Federal Home Loan Bank membership. The result for customers is access to more competitively priced real estate products.
  • In May, NCB launches a revamped website (www.ncb.coop) taking advantage of the newest sponsored top level domain – .coop – available only to cooperatives and cooperative service organizations.
  • NCB places a $40 million credit-tenant lease transaction for an Alaska Native Corporation through a private placement partnership.
  • The Bank experiences a 56 percent increase in the number of consumers accessing cooperative apartment share loan financing. Originations grow to $172 million with a strong demand in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC and California.
  • NCB expands its deposit product offering, introducing online cash management services that are immediately tapped by NCB's commercial customer base.
  • The Bank expands the deposit base by 66 percent from the previous year to $369 million, enhancing the diversification of funding sources and lowering capital costs for customers.
  • NCB reports $17.5 million – a record year – in earnings for 2002 despite sluggish economy.

2003: 

  • To foster the development of new cooperatives, NCB launches a program whereby eligible applicants may receive up to $50,000 in business planning advances and $75,000 in start-up capital.
  • NCB produces a video and brochure titled, What is a Co-op? You'd Be Surprised, showing how cooperatives are interwoven throughout American society.
  • The U.S Department of Education awards NCBDC a $6 million grant under the Credit Enhancement Program for Charter School Facilities. The grant will enable NCB's nonprofit affiliate to enhance facilities and educational opportunities for children in Florida, Georgia, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
  • NCB's overall earnings for 2003 climb to a record level as net income advances an impressive 87.6 percent to $32.8 million.
  • Deposits at NCB, FSB stand at an all-time high of $487.2 million, up 32.1 percent from 2002.
  • Financing for co-op apartments nationwide surges 30.6 percent to $223.9 million.

2004: 

  • NCB, FSB expands its residential real estate products to include home equity lines of credit for co-op apartment units, a first on a nationwide basis.
  • The U.S. Department of Treasury allocates New Market Tax Credits worth $75 million to NCBDC to help charter schools and health centers in economically distressed communities.
  • NCB supports the creation of the first higher education program focused on cooperative management, sponsoring two candidates for the Master's of Cooperative Management at Nova Scotia's St. Mary's University.
  • NCB is approved as a participating lender in a unique public-private-nonprofit initiative called the Third Party Transfer Program under New York City's Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (HPD).  The Bank’s first project helps preserve 158 units of affordable housing as part of a $16 million financial package with the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB).

2005: 

  • In March, NCB observes the 25th anniversary of originating its first loan.
  • NCB partners with food co-op specialists, called Food Co-op 500 to help grow the number of community-based food co-ops to 500 by the year 2010.  Development guidance, grants and business planning advances are offered to groups sponsoring food co-ops in their local communities.
  • NCB joins the AllPoint ATM network providing surcharge free access for its consumer customers to ATMs bearing the AllPoint logo across the United States.
  • NCB continues to expand its community retail banking presence in southwestern Ohio, breaking ground on a new branch office in Fayetteville, its first outside the Highland County seat of Hillsboro.

2006: 

  • NCB unveils a reverse mortgage product for New York seniors living in housing cooperatives in partnership with IndyMac.
  • NCBDC receives funding to replicate innovative Green House long-term care model on national basis.
  • NCB partners with Loomis Fargo to round out its cash management services offering coin and currency services on a nationwide basis to its commercial retail customers.
  • Treasury Department awards $54 Million in New Markets Tax Credits to NCBDC.
  • NCB receives nationwide designation as a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Preferred Lender, translating into an expedited loan origination process for commercial retail customers.
  • Based on extensive customer research, NCB launches dynamic new branding initiative, simplifying the Bank’s name from National Cooperative Bank to NCB and modernizing its overall look.  The Bank’s nonprofit affiliate changes its name to NCB Capital Impact to more effectively communicate its strategy of leveraging resources to meet the needs of underserved communities.

2007: 

  • NCB continues to expand its community retail banking presence in southwestern Ohio, breaking ground on new branch offices in the communities of Blanchester and Wilmington.
  • NCB partners with GE Healthcare Financial Services to round out their product offering by providing both conventional and SBA commercial real estate loans to medical practices nationwide for needs up to $1 million.
  • NCB joins the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS).  As part of a network of thousands of banks, NCB can now provide full FDIC insurance of more than $30 million for CDs.   For NCB customers that have restrictive investment policies including housing cooperatives and nonprofits, they now can turn to a single source - NCB - to manage their FDIC-insured CDs.

2008: 

  • NCB launches Real Time Deposit, NCB's remote deposit capture product to commercial customers nationwide. 
  • NCB launches an online mortgage application, making it easy and convenient for consumer customers to apply for a mortgage with NCB.
  • NCB launches a new lending program to finance solar energy systems. The Renewable Energy Team funded approximately $100 million in 2008 for solar systems nationwide, most noteably an $11 million financing package arranged for renewable energy supplier MMA Renewable Ventures, to build a 2-megawatt solar project at Denver International Airport, the nation’s fifth busiest airport.

2009: 

  • Food Co-op 500 finds a new partner in Blooming Prairie Foundation. Blooming Prairie Foundation provides a $1 million grant and the launch of a new food co-op program, The Food Co-op Initiative.
  • NCB in partnership with NCB Capital Impact provides $391 million in mission related transactions to serve low to moderate income communities nationwide.

2010: 

  • NCB becomes engaged in social media with the launch NCB's facebook and twitter account
  • NCB partners with the National Credit Union Foundation to expand its Community Investment Fund. Through this initiative, a member of the credit union community can make a deposit with NCB,FSB and donate up to 100% of the interest earned to the foundation to support philanthropic programs nationwide. NCB launches website www.cifwithncb.coop to facilitate the program.
  • NCB launches eStatements for banking customer to access deposit account statements online through NCB's online banking platform.
  • NCB launches a Lockbox and Payment Processing solution for housing communities and management companies nationwide. NCB can now offer full service association banking services to community associations nationwide.

2011: 

  •  NCB, FSB (NCB) and The Members Group (TMG), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Iowa Credit Union League announce that a definitive agreement which provides for the delivery of correspondent services to Iowa credit unions has been executed by the two organizations.
  • NCB Capital Impact, chartered by the same act of Congress as National Cooperative Bank becomes an independent community development fnancial institution and no longer an affiliate of NCB.

2012:  

  • NCB celebrates the International Year of Cooperative.
  • NCB's President and CEO Chuck Snyder is inducted into the 2012 Cooperative Hall of Fame.
  • NCB participates in the launch of CooperateUSA mobile app to promote local, cooperative-based businesses 
  • NCB launches cooperative and condominium superintendent unit and professional unit financing throughout the Tri-State area