Community Development Finance

At Silicon Valley Bank we pride ourselves on providing financial solutions to not only the businesses in the communities we serve but to the people of our communities too. We are a consistent, dependable source of financing for development projects that stabilize our neighborhoods and revitalize our communities.

Silicon Valley Bank's Community Development Finance Practice is dedicated to providing Bay Area housing developers with financing for both single and multifamily affordable housing projects. We have developed strategic partnerships with the California Housing Finance Agency and the California Community Reinvestment Corporation.

We understand your projects — and we know how to make them happen. Silicon Valley Bank has a true understanding of the complexities associated with your business. We know how to structure financing to meet your project's complicated capital requirements, and we have extensive experience working under community development project regulations.

Whether you are a for-profit or a not-for-profit organization, our team of experienced lenders knows how to make your project happen and is dedicated to helping you navigate any obstacles in your way.

Your projects are far from ordinary. So are our financing solutions. Our range of creative, flexible financing solutions reflects our understanding of your business needs:

Conventional construction financing
Permanent financing
Construction phase stand-by letters of credit
Private placement of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds
Project-based bridge loans
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco affordable housing program grants
Section 8 increment loans

Your affordable housing projects make a big difference in our communities — choosing the right financial partner will make a big difference to your success.

Our communities. Silicon Valley Bank's Community Development Finance team serves the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo and Sonoma counties. These counties comprise our Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) assessment area.

Community Development Finance
In addition to affordable housing lending, we purchase low income tax credits. Since 2002, SVB has committed more than $43 million across 10 funds with projects in our Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) assessment areas across the Bay Area.

Facts and Figures
Since 2002, Silicon Valley Bank has closed a total of more than $313 million in more than 2,100 affordable housing lending projects. Of those completed, over 1,200 units were financed directly by Silicon Valley Bank. In 2008 alone, we funded $77 million in new deals.

Silicon Valley Bank is one of the few lenders that have been able to create a successful secondary market for its permanent loans.

Its Community Development Finance projects target tenants earning 30-60 percent and frequently lower levels of Area Median Income (AMI).

SVB-financed Kent Gardens, located in unincorporated Alameda County near San Leandro, Calif., is the first HUD 202/Low Income Housing tax credit mixed financing deal in California and only the third in the nation.
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News and Awards
Silicon Valley Bank was awarded the 2007 Investor of the Year by Merritt Community Capital for its leadership in providing both debt and equity resources in support of affordable housing developments.
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Silicon Valley Bank's project, Sara Conner Court, an Eden Housing project in Hayward, Calif., was a finalist in 2007 for Best Family Project in the nation.
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Silicon Valley Bank received the an Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco for the Fremont Oaks project in Fremont, Calif. The project received a national award for best senior citizens' housing project in the nation in 2006. The project was specifically designed to aid deaf senior citizens.

Silicon Valley Bank also partnered with the Federal Home Loan Bank on the Buena Vista Terrace in the famous Haight/Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, Calif. It is a church renovated into affordable housing for seniors.