OWNING A HOME HAS ALWAYS BEEN
the cornerstone of the American dream,
providing stability and a gateway to
financial security and wealth. But for
many, especially those in underserved
communities, the dream is out of
reach due to wealth inequality and a
lack of access to capital. The Change
Company, a community development
financial institution (CDFI) that promotes
capital and local economic growth
in Black, Latinx, and low-income
communities, is working to fix that.
“Our mission is to bank the
unbanked, fairly and responsibly,”
says Steven Sugarman, founder of
the Change Company. “We do this
by providing digital-first solutions
to the resolution of social and racial
inequities in lending and banking.Homeownership is key to breaking
the intergenerational poverty resulting
from a legacy of unequal access to
lending and other structural racial
inequities caused by the financial
services industry.”
The Change Company, headquar-
tered in Irvine, Calif., operates five
divisions that encompass everything
from mortgage lending to appraisal
management services—all geared
toward empowering underserved
homeowners, small businesses,
and consumers.
“Change does what traditional
lenders can’t or won’t do,” Sugarman
says. “Traditional banks don’t believe
all Americans deserve their best
technology, their best programs, and
their best loans. We do.”
Still, tackling existing social and
racial inequities in banking is no
small feat. According to the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 33%
of African Americans and Latinos do
not have access to any mainstream
credit products, including credit cards,
personal loans, auto loans, student
loans, or home loans. That compares
to only 14% of whites.
The Change Company has funded
about $25 billion in loans and more
than $7 billion in 2020 alone. In addi-
tion, since its CDFI certification in 2018,
it has not had a single foreclosure on a
loan, demonstrating that doing good
can be good business.
To further expand Black home-
ownership in America, the Change
Company and its home loan subsid-
iary recently partnered with Netflix.
The streaming services company
invested $10 million as part of its own
initial $100 million overall initiative to
support Black communities.
“Strong, socially responsible capital
partners are critical to our ability to
expand homeownership for minority
and other underserved borrowers,”
says Sugarman. “Our partnership with
Netflix allows us to do just that. We
are excited to empower real, positive
change in America’s communities.” ■PROFILE 2021 | CHANGE THE WORLDCONTENT FROM THE CHANGE COMPANYBringing Equal
Access to the
American Dream
The Change Company is working to end
racial and societal inequities in financial services.BY SERVING PRIME BORROWERS TRADITIONALLY
LOCKED OUT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, THE CHANGE
COMPANY IS WORKING TO “BANK THE UNDERBANKED.”