Finanta expanding its lending impact across the region

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It’s been a busy couple of years for Finanta. The Community Development Financial Institution, which was founded in 1992 as Community First Fund in Lancaster, changed its name in 2024 after merging with Philadelphia-based Finanta about six years ago. 

Today, the CDIF has offices in Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Reading and Allentown and is working to grow the services it provides to the community. 

It has long been known for helping with financing for economic development projects that will benefit the community. 

For example, while still under the name Community First Fund, Finanta helped use New Market Tax Credits to fund the revitalization of a 17.5-acre manufacturing campus in Allentown for Marcon Properties, a project that was expected to bring needed jobs to an economically challenged part of the city. 

But in recent years, CEO Daniel Betancourt has looked to expand its outreach beyond business investment offices to the individuals in the community with the introduction of credit union offices. 

Community First Fund opened its first credit union branch, Community First Fund Credit Union, in downtown Lancaster back in 2022. 

It later opened a credit union in Philadelphia, and in April Finanta launched its first credit union in Reading at 240 Penn Street.  

This Reading location is fully bilingual in Spanish and English and will act as a financial center for its current commercial operations, new consumer services and financial education offerings.  

Betancourt said Finanta Credit Union’s strategy builds on this mission with its embedded strategy, which is responsive to the needs of each community where it’s located, and asks members in each geography what financial products and services they need to succeed.  

“Finanta exists to provide fair, affordable financial services to people who have too often been left out of financial institutions,” he said. “By pairing Finanta Credit Union services with financial education and one-on-one support — in both Spanish and English — we build real relationships with our members and design solutions that help families build wealth and strengthen their communities.”  

Betancourt said Finanta isn’t stopping there. It is currently researching plans to open credit unions in both Allentown and Harrisburg, so it will have credit unions in all of the communities it currently has business investment offices in. 

“A lot of areas are underbanked, and in our cities people have limited access to banking services,” Betancourt said. 

That means many low-income people rely on cash checking services or businesses that charge much higher fees or interest than a traditional bank would, leaving them vulnerable to predatory lending. 

Not being able to access affordable loans can have a rolling effect, he noted. 

For example, if someone has to buy an older, less reliable car because they have to use cash on hand, they will ultimately face more expenses in maintenance and repairs than they would if they could afford a more reliable car. 

But Betancourt said the credit unions offer more than just access to money. 

“We have a financial center model where any bank loans come with financial education,” he said. 

This helps because he said many low-income people never knew they would be able to get a loan and aren’t certain how to proceed. 

As the CDFI continues to grow its mission, it recently got a little help, winning a significant competitive grant. 

To celebrate its bicentennial, KeyBank made a $200,000 philanthropic grant to Finanta through the KeyBank Foundation as part of a grant program designed to strengthen Community Development Financial Institutions and foundations that play a critical role in advancing affordable housing and small business development. 

“We’re grateful to KeyBank for this investment and their commitment to the communities we care about,” said Danial Betancourt, president and CEO of Finanta. “This funding helps us expand access to capital, resources, and technical assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs as they move their projects forward and strengthen their neighborhoods, create jobs and build economic stability.” 

 Funds from this grant will be used for Finanta’s Affinity Group Lending and Technical Assistance (AGL) program, which provides necessary resources for small business owners and entrepreneurs in the greater Philadelphia region to receive microloans.