Free Financial Education Classes are offered at:

OnePacific Coast Foundation

1438 Webster St., Ste. 101

Oakland, CA  94612

Classes for individuals:  Tuesdays 9:30-11:30am, 12:30-2:30pm, 4:30-6:30pm

OneCAL SAFE (Checking and Lifetime Savings Accounts with Financial Education) is an initiative of OneCalifornia Foundation, which in partnership with Bay Area non-profit organizations, works to provide low-income individuals and emerging small businesses with access to financial education and fair banking services.  Call 510.663.2253 x301 to register for a class.

New Loan Program to grow Nonprofit Organizations and Small Businesses

One PacificCoast Bank is now offering loans for nonprofits and businesses to help grow small enterprises. Business and Nonprofit Builder loans are from $5,000 to $25,000 and can be used to refinance business debt, purchase equipment, finance inventory and accounts receivable, tenant improvements, or other working capital needs. Loans cannot be used to repay personal debt.

Existing nonprofits or businesses with over three years of operations and profitability in the past year can apply. Loan terms range from two to four years and payments are made in monthly principal & interest installments. Collateral is required and there is a $100 application fee. For more information, please contact Cara Wick at 510.550.8431 or email cwick@opcb.com.

We are excited to be one of the few banks that provide loans to nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area!

New Fair & Manageable Alternative to Payday Loans

Seeking Partners for Pilot Alternative to Payday Loans

One PacificCoast Bank is excited to announce its pilot of a new alternative to payday loans: the Pal loan. This program will allow individuals to borrow from $500-$1000 dollars to cover an unexpected expense and pay it back in small monthly installments of 8-12 months. This loan is intended to provide a manageable alternative to expensive payday and car title loans that often keep people trapped in debt cycle.

In addition to the loan itself, this program can help build credit, includes financial tips and tools, and provides incentives to save. Our optional Automatic Payment and Savings program includes an immediate $25 incentive that gets deposited into a new free savings account for the borrower. Upon repayment, the same monthly amount will automatically transfer into their savings account each month until/unless the former borrower cancels it.

The program meets or exceeds the FDIC’s guidelines for small dollar loans, with an interest rate of 18% and a $30 financed loan origination fee. This fee is incorporated into the monthly loan payments; it is not paid up front.

The program launched on July 15th 2011 with four partner employers, and One PacificCoast Bank is seeking additional local employers to partner with us. Participating employers will let their staff know that the loan is available, will help them with application questions, and will provide employment verification. There are no fees or financial risks to the employer.

Employer requirements (for-profit or non-profit):

* 25 or more employees
* Most employees are year-round, not seasonal
* Offer direct deposit of payroll to employees

Interested employers should contact Erin Kilmer Neel at One PacificCoast Foundation, ekilmer@onepcf.org or 510.663.2253.

For more information about One Pacific Coast Bank,FSB, go to http://opcb.com. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. CDFI Certified Bank.

We at OneCalifornia Bank are excited to announce that we are leaders in providing SBA loans to Bay Area small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.  Thanks to our SBA team, led by Robert Gebauer, the amount of lending for our small size and young age is amazing.

 In the first nine months of the fiscal year 2010, out of the 80 banks in the San Francisco SBA District Office, OneCalifornia Bank was 6th in terms of number of loans and 10th in number of dollars lent for the nine month period between October 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010*. We generated a total of $5.75 million in loans during this time. In fact, we lent more dollars than Citibank, Bank of America, Bank of the West, and JPMorgan Chase in this district.  Pretty impressive considering we’ve only been around for 3 years and their assets are on substantially larger than ours!  We look forward to having them join us in increasing the amount of loans being made to our local small businesses.

We are proud to be able to help many businesses in stay in operation (and grow!) during hard times, and in turn help retain and create jobs in our local community.  This is what our work is all about - strengthening our local economy to benefit community members of all income levels, races and walks of life.  You support our clients every day without knowing it, from a Hispanic bakery in San Pablo to a recycling retail business in Oakland, to a restaurant in San Francisco.  Thank you for supporting us in this work!

For enlightening facts about how small banks across the country are helping our communities, see this article in last month’s newsletter.

*for 7a loans

The results are in: OneCalifornia Bank was voted Best of the East Bay for Best Community Bank!  Thank you to all our fans and supporters who voted for us.

Check out all the other Best of the East Bay winners in today’s East Bay Express: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/general/flash/07-14-2010/

And don’t forget to come to the Best of the East Bay party on August 6th at Jack London Square!  This year’s party will be at Jack London Square waterfront from 5-11PM.  The event is free and open for all ages, and features multiple bands, a kid’s zone, and a Blues Pavilion, paying tribute to the blues history of Russeel City in Hayward and 7th Street in Oakland.  For more details and ongoing updates, including updates of the band lineup for the evening, please visit www.EastBayExpress.com/BOEBParty

OneCalifornia Foundation will be running the bar, so make sure to stop by and say hi!  If you’re interested in volunteering with us at the bar, make sure to let us know–details are posted here.

UPDATED: for more information on the Best of the East Bay Party, check out the article in this week’s edition of the East Bay Express.

OneCalifornia Bank’s ATM network, Allpoint ATMs, has had an application for both iPhone and Andriod for awhile now.  But now BlackBerry users can join in the fun–Allpoint has just developed an app for BlackBerry users, too!

In addition, Allpoint has created an easy-to-use download page for cardholders to add the Allpoint moblie application specific to your device and carrier.  For more information, check out Allpoint’s website.

OneCalifornia Bank was just approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for Preferred Lenders Program (PLP) and for Certified Lenders Program (CLP) Status. This recognition by the SBA confirms the excellent lending OneCalifornia Bank is doing in the realm of SBA loans and will bolster the loans their clients receive.

Designation as a Preferred Lender is the most prestigious designation granted by the SBA. As part of the Preferred Lenders Program, the SBA designates to the lenders the origination, approval, documentation, closing, and most servicing and liquidation authority and responsibility for SBA guaranteed loans. With this authority, loans get approved and funded more quickly by the SBA, which benefits both lenders such as OneCalifornia and their clients.

This award also ties in nicely with the bank’s mission.  The bank makes a conscious effort to lend to small businesses and make the process as easy and understandable as possible.  PLP status is one step in the SBA’s process of “streamlining” the procedures necessary to provide financial assistance to the small business community.

Lenders qualify for PLP status by maintaining an exceptional performance record coupled with strong loan volume and low default rates, meaning that PLP lenders such as OneCalifornia Bank are more experienced and better equipped to manage SBA loans than other lenders.

OneCalifornia Bank was awarded the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) from the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund in Washington, DC.  The maximum amount for the BEA grant this year was $700,000, and the Bank was awarded the full amount.  The bank is honored by this recognition as it further validates the work that OneCalifornia Bank is doing in the areas of lending and community development in the Bay Area.  The grant allows OneCalifornia Bank to continue to lend to those often overlooked by other institutions, such as minority-owned or women-owned small businesses.

The BEA Program, among other things, allows “FDIC-insured banks and thrifts to increase their provisions of loans, such as opening new savings accounts, providing mortgages or investing in local small business.”  The BEA Award reflects growth in specific lending categories that are geared towards community development.

The bank was certified as a Community Development Financial Institution by the national CDFI Fund earlier this year.  Soon after certification, the CDFI fund awarded the bank its first grant in the form of a Technical Assistance (TA) grant for $100,000.  Gaining certification and two awards in less than a year’s time reflects on OneCalifornia Bank’s commitment to community development and its dedication to Oakland and the greater Bay Area.

OneCalifornia Bank continues to be a leading lender to local non-profit organizations with its recent loan to Lighthouse Community Charter School.  This loan, by helping hundreds of Oakland students over the next several years, will have a long-term impact on the community of Oakland.

Founded as a charter school in 2002 with just 92 students in its K-12 school, Lighthouse started out with a goal of preparing a “diverse K-12 student population for college or a career of their choice by equipping each child with the knowledge, skills, and principles to be a self-motivated, lifelong learner.”  Of its current student body of 650, 80% is low-income, 72% is ESL (English as a Second Language), and 90% is from families where no one has gone to college.  But in just seven short years, both the school and its students have come a long way.  Lighthouse Community Charter School is sending all 21 members of its first graduating class–which graduated this past June–off to college in the fall.

As Lighthouse’s student body continued to grow, so did its need for a larger space.  Its K-6 and 7-12 campuses have become too cramped over the past few years.  Moreover, the high rents for these spaces have drained valuable program dollars; Lighthouse is a charter school and a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and charges no tuition, meaning its source of revenue comes from donations. 

Instead of continuing to rent a small place, Lighthouse took on an $11 million renovation of two existing warehouse and office buildings off of Hegenberger Road.  OneCalifornia Bank is providing a $2 million loan to aid Lighthouse Community Charter School in its undertaking.  This loan will help Lighthouse undertake its renovation project, which will provide ample classroom space, as well as science and media labs, art studios, a library, and outdoor recreation space.