(a) Eligibility and completeness. An Applicant will not be eligible to receive assistance pursuant to this part if it fails to meet the eligibility requirements described in § 1805.200 or if it has not submitted complete application materials. For the purposes of this paragraph (a), the CDFI Fund reserves the right to request additional information from the Applicant, if the CDFI Fund deems it appropriate.

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(b) Substantive review. In evaluating and selecting applications to receive assistance, the CDFI Fund will evaluate the feasibility of the Applicant’s Comprehensive Business Plan goals, the likelihood of the Applicant meeting such goals, and the likelihood of the Applicant achieving its proposed community development impacts, by considering factors such as:

(1) Community development track record, including, in the case of an Applicant with a prior history of serving a Target Market, the extent of success in serving such Target Market and whether it will expand its operations into a new Investment Area or serve a new Targeted Population, offer more Development Services, Financial Products and/or Financial Services, or increase the volume of its current business;

(2) Operational capacity and risk mitigation strategies;

(3) Financial track record and strength;

(4) Capacity, skills, experience and background of the management team;

(5) Understanding of its market context, including an analysis of the needs of the Investment Area or Targeted Population and a strategy for how the Applicant will attempt to meet those needs; such analysis of current and prospective customers will include the extent of economic distress within the designated Investment Area(s) or the extent of need within the designated Targeted Population(s), as those factors are measured by objective criteria, the extent of need for Loans, Equity Investments, Financial Products, Financial Services and Development Services within the designated Target Market, and the extent of demand within the Target Market for the Applicant’s products and services;

(6) Program design and implementation plan, including: A plan to coordinate use of a financial assistance award with existing Federal State, local and Tribal government assistance programs, and private sector financial services; A description of how the Applicant will coordinate with community organizations and financial institutions which will provide equity investments, loans, secondary markets, or other services to the Investment Area or Targeted Population; an assessment of its products and services, marketing and outreach efforts, delivery strategy, and coordination with other institutions and/or a Community Partner, or participation in a secondary market for purposes of increasing the Applicant’s resources. In the case of an Applicant submitting an application with a Community Partner, the CDFI Fund will evaluate: the extent to which the Community Partner will participate in carrying out the activities of the Community Partnership; the extent to which the Community Partner will enhance the likelihood of success of the Comprehensive Business Plan; and the extent to which service to the designated Target Market will be better performed by a Community Partnership than by the Applicant alone;

(7) Projections for financial performance, capitalization and the raising of needed external resources, including a detailed description of the Applicant’s plans and likely sources of funds to match the amount of financial assistance requested from the CDFI Fund, the amount of firm commitments and matching funds in hand to meet or exceed the matching funds requirements and, if applicable, the likely success of the plan for raising the balance of the matching funds in a timely manner, the extent to which the matching funds are, or will be, derived from private sources, and whether an Applicant is, or will become, an Insured CDFI or a State-Insured Credit Union;

(8) Projections for community development impact, including the extent to which an Applicant will concentrate its activities on serving its Target Market(s), the extent of support from the designated Target Market, the extent to which an Applicant is, or will be, Community-Owned or Community-Governed, and the extent to which the activities proposed in the Comprehensive Business Plan are consistent with existing economic, community, and housing development plans adopted by or applicable to the Investment Area or Targeted Population and will expand economic opportunities or promote community development within the designated Target Market;

(9) The extent of need for the CDFI Fund’s assistance, as demonstrated by the extent of economic distress in the Applicant’s Target Market and the extent to which the Applicant needs the CDFI Fund’s assistance to carry out its Comprehensive Business Plan;

(10) In the case of an Applicant that has previously received assistance under the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund also will consider the Applicant’s level of success in meeting its performance goals, financial soundness covenants (if applicable), and other requirements contained in the previously negotiated and executed Assistance Agreement(s) with the CDFI Fund, the unexpended balance of assistance, and whether the Applicant will, with additional assistance from the CDFI Fund, expand its operations into a new Target Market, offer more products or services, and/or increase the volume of its activities; and

(11) The CDFI Fund may consider any other factors, as it deems appropriate, in reviewing an application as set forth in an applicable Notice of Funds Availability.

(c) Consultation with Appropriate Federal Banking Agencies. The CDFI Fund will consult with, and consider the views of, the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency prior to providing assistance to:

(1) An Insured CDFI;

(2) A CDFI that is examined by or subject to the reporting requirements of an Appropriate Federal Banking Agency; or

(3) A CDFI that has as its Community Partner an institution that is examined by, or subject to, the reporting requirements of an Appropriate Federal Banking Agency.

(d) Consultation with Appropriate State Agencies. Prior to providing assistance to a State-Insured Credit Union, the CDFI Fund may consult with, and consider the views of, the Appropriate State Agency.

(e) Recipient selection. The CDFI Fund will select Recipients based on the criteria described in paragraph (b) of this section and any other criteria set forth in this part or the applicable Notice of Funds Availability.