Community Impact

A broad group of cooperative leaders, consumer advocates, and civil rights leaders set out to provide a dependable source of financing for cooperatives not eligible to use the existing U.S. cooperative finance system.

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. The passage of the legislation would not have been possible without the actions and support of cooperative leaders and organizations, consumer and community advocates and civil rights organizations.

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.

Through a Mayor's Order, led by Cornelius "Cornbread" Givens, a national advocate for cooperatives and civil rights activist, the District of Columbia Commission for Cooperative Economic Development was formed to create jobs and address food insecurity. 

Civil Rights activist and future Congressman John Lewis was hired by the Bank to serve as Community Relations Director to promote the Bank and cooperatives to Black leaders and communities of color nationwide. 

After talk of cancelling 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.

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

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

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).

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.

NCB secures it first $50 million line of credit from the capital markets. The funding ensures NCB's continued expansion of lending activities.

NCB registers with the Securities & Exchange Commission.  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.

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.

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.

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.

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 cooperative and collective ownership environments in which its customers operate.

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.

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.

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.

NCB arranges first public sale of affordable housing loans, consisting of $26 million in limited-equity housing cooperative underlying mortgages.

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 – non-profit, community-based healthcare and senior living communities.

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 wholesale cooperative.

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.

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.

NCB assets top $1 billion.

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.

NCB reaches its long-term goal of providing financing to cooperatives and their members in every state in the union.

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 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 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.

On January 1, 2002, NCB  decreases 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.

NCB expands its co-op share loan and deposit product offerings, 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.

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.

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.

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 non-profit 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).

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 unveils a reverse mortgage product for New York seniors living in housing cooperatives in partnership with IndyMac.

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 a dynamic new branding initiative,  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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

NCB, FSB (NCB) and The Members Group (TMG), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Iowa Credit Union League announce 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 financial institution and no longer an affiliate of NCB.

NCB celebrates the International Year of the Cooperative.

NCB's President and CEO Chuck Snyder is inducted into the 2012 Cooperative Hall of Fame.

NCB launches cooperative and condominium superintendent unit and professional unit financing throughout the Tri-State area.

NCB commits $250,000 over a five year period to Food Co-op Initiative to support the creation of new food cooperatives nationwide.

NCB provides a $30 million underlying mortgage to Amalgamated Housing Cooperative, the oldest limited equity housing cooperative located in Bronx, NY serving 1,500 residents.

NCB's Executive Vice President Barry Silver is inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame.

NCB ranks #5 on Washington Post Top Places to Work and #8 on Washington Business Journal's Healthiest Employers.

NCB partners with the National PACE Association to announce a lending program to help finance the expansion of Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

NCB,FSB converts to National Cooperative Bank, N.A. to better serve our commercial cooperative customers.

NCB ranks top on Washington Post Top Places to Work and Washington Business Journal's Healthiest Employers for the second year in a row. NCB also named as a Top Employer in Ohio.

ROC USA® Capital, National Cooperative Bank (NCB) and MetLife, forge a $40 million financing partnership to structure a groundbreaking first mortgage acquisition/permanent loan product to finance resident-owned manufactured home communities (ROCs) at scale.

NCB receives the American Bankers Association Community Commitment Award for affordable housing for the ROC USA program which helps convert manufactured home communities to affordable housing cooperatives.

National Cooperative Bank Commits $5 million to the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions Community Development Investment Program.

Completion of the ROC USA financing program which resulted in six transactions totaling $37.94 million and 839 new homeowners.

NCB was honored as one of the “Best Adoption-Friendly Family Workplaces in America” by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. And the “Nation’s Best and Brightest in Wellness®” for 2017 by the National Association for Business Resources.

NCB launches mobile banking for consumers

NCB launches Impact Checking and Savings accounts for consumers through digital channels and an online account opening process.

NCB announces its commitment of $10 million to the $45 million Southern Equity Fund, a partnership between Inclusiv and Kresge Foundation to address economic insecurity in low-income and communities of color in southern states.  

NCB launches a new FHA mortgage purchase conduit that works with mortgage bankers to purchase one or more delinquent FHA mortgages with the goal of keeping homeowners in their homes and out of foreclosure.  

NCB closes its first cohousing loan, a $5.65 million construction loan for a new 28-unit community in the Triangle area of North Carolina.  Village Hearth is a 55+ intentional community of LGBTs, straight friends, and allies.  

NCB provides a $1.4 million SBA 7 (a) loan to Fredericksburg Food Co-op.  This is the first SBA loan to a food co-op. 

NCB launches the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ( DEI) program.  NCB provides $145,000 in scholarship funds to Thurgood Marshall College Fund, United Negro College Funds, and the first-ever Minority Excellence Scholarship for Southern State Community College in Hillsboro, Ohio. 

Casey Fannon is named President of NCB. 

NCB and the co-op community mourn the loss of Chuck Snyder, NCB CEO, and co-op hero. A loving husband and father, a passionate advocate of cooperatives, and a true believer in people helping people passed away unexpectedly on November 6, 2021.

NCB has record year with financial results.  Loan originations of $1.65 billion and net income of $52.9 million.  Mission banking initiatives totaled $456 million.  

NCB is the founding and strategic partner of Rochdale Capital, a newly formed community development loan fund.