FHLBank Chicago Invests Over $27 Million to Support Small Businesses in Illinois and Wisconsin

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 19, 2024--

In recognition of Small Business Saturday on November 30, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today announced it has invested over $27 million through its Community First ® Accelerate Grants (Accelerate Grants) for Small Business and its Community Small Business Advance throughout 2024. Through these programs, FHLBank Chicago supported more than 700 small businesses throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.

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“We are proud to help small businesses within our communities grow and achieve success. Small businesses play an integral role in local communities, from creating jobs to fostering community development,” said Katie Naftzger, Senior Vice President, Community Investment Officer, FHLBank Chicago. “As a leader in the housing and community development space, FHLBank Chicago is committed to ensuring our members’ communities have what they need to thrive, including economic opportunities for the residents and small businesses who call them home.”

Now in its third and largest year, FHLBank Chicago has awarded over $10 million through its Accelerate Grants program for small businesses in 2024. Of the businesses that received grants this year, over 56 percent were diverse-owned, emphasizing FHLBank Chicago’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and equity. These funds aim to increase businesses’ financial stability and provide an immediate boost for small businesses to undertake equipment upgrades, expansions, and new services. As of today, over $15 million in funds have been awarded to small businesses since the program’s inception in 2022.

FHLBank Chicago member, Byline Bank, awarded $15,000 Accelerate Grants to two local small businesses - Mack’s Bike and Goods located in Evanston, Ill. and Taqueria La Placita de Isabel located in the McKinley Park neighborhood of Chicago. Mack’s Bike and Goods, a full-service bicycle shop and community meeting venue, plans to use the grant to enhance its building exterior. Taqueria La Placita de Isabel, a restaurant that is a staple gathering spot for school-age children and families, will use the grant to purchase a cooler for perishable food items, add seating and outdoor signage and hire an additional part-time employee.

“At Mack’s Bike and Goods, we’re more than a bicycle shop; we’re a hub for community connection and sustainable living,” said Kelly Mack, co-owner of Mack’s Bike and Goods. “This grant allows us to make essential upgrades like improving our entrance and signage, creating a safer, more welcoming space for our customers and investing back into our vibrant community in Evanston.”

In addition to Accelerate Grants, this year FHLBank Chicago increased the subsidy available for the Community Small Business Advance to $18 million, up from $10 million in 2023. Through this advance program, FHLBank Chicago member financial institutions originated over $100 million in significantly below-market rate loans to business owners in low-and moderate-income communities as of October 31, 2024. This program offers deeper liquidity support, enabling FHLBank Chicago members to provide low-cost capital to help small businesses make larger strategic investments.

“High interest rates are challenging for any small business to navigate, and we often see this with local farmers in rural, western Wisconsin who face limited access to low-cost capital,” said William Bruegger, CEO of Alliance Bank in Mondovi, Wis. “Through the discounted lending we were able to provide through FHLBank Chicago's Community Small Business Advance, one of our customers, a local farmer, purchased 173 acres of farmland to plant row crops. Products like this allow us to use our deep ties to our communities to drive economic growth where it’s needed most.”

View the full list of 2024 FHLBank Chicago Accelerate Grants recipients here.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

FHLBank Chicago is a regional bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. FHLBanks are government-sponsored enterprises created by Congress to ensure access to low-cost funding for their member financial institutions, with a focus on providing solutions that support the housing and community development needs of members’ customers. FHLBank Chicago is a self-capitalizing cooperative, owned by its Illinois and Wisconsin members, including commercial banks, credit unions, insurance companies, savings institutions and community development financial institutions. To learn more about FHLBank Chicago, please visit fhlbc.com.

“Community First” is a registered trademark of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.

The Mack family of Mack’s Bike and Goods in Evanston, Ill., who received a $15,000 Community First® Accelerate Grant from FHLBank Chicago through their member Byline Bank to support their small business growth. (Photo: Business Wire)

Wall Street was poised to open with losses early Tuesday as more prominent U.S. retailers report their latest financial results.

Futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.3% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.5%. The declines come as tensions flare between Ukraine and Russia with the war reaching 1,000 days.

Walmart jumped 3.6% in premarket after it beat Wall Street's sales and profit targets and raised its outlook for the year. Walmart is among the first major U.S. retailers to report quarterly results and provides a peek into how Americans are feeling as they head into the holiday shopping season.

Home improvement chain Lowe's also beat analyst estimates and raised guidance but its shares were down 1.4% before the bell.

Super Micro Computer soared 26% after the server company announced it had hired BDO to be its independent auditor and submitted a compliance plan to the Nasdaq Stock Market to remain listed. Super Micro had lost more than half its value since its previous accounting firm, Ernst & Young, resigned on Oct. 30, saying it could “no longer be able to rely” on representations from the company’s management and audit committee.

Other big companies set to report this week include chipmaker Nvidia and Target on Wednesday and Deere on Thursday.

Nvidia, with a total market value of nearly $3.5 trillion, will need to hit analysts’ high expectations for growth during the latest quarter to justify its big stock price, which has surged 183% this year.

In Europe at midday, Germany's DAX lost 1.3%, while the CAC 40 in Paris sank 1.5%. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.5%.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 38,414.43 and the Kospi in Seoul picked up 0.1% to 2,471.95.

Chinese shares rebounded from early losses. They have wavered under concern over potential tariff hikes on by President-elect Donald Trump’s future administration and worries that recently announced stimulus policies won't have enough impact to break the economy out of the doldrums.

The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.7% to 3,346.01, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped and then recovered, adding 0.4% to 19,663.67.

India's Sensex jumped gained 0.3%, while the Taiex in Taiwan surged 1.3%. In Bangkok, the SET gained 0.7%.

In other dealings early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude oil shed 26 cents to $68.91 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, declined 19 cents to $73.11 per barrel.

The dollar fell to 154.16 Japanese yen from 154.67 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0570 from $1.0599.

FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader reacts near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)