City of Chicago Teams Up With U.S. Bank to Attract Investment in Industrial Projects.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Development Fund (CDF), a non-profit entity controlled by the City of Chicago, is working on an exclusive basis with U.S. Bank to launch the Industrial Expansion Loan (IEL) program, providing favorable financing for established companies looking to expand industrial operations in low-income communities within the City of Chicago.

IEL loans range from $2 million to $15 million and feature advantageous terms such as interest rates of about 200 basis points (2 percent) below market, loan-to-value ratios up to 95 percent of development costs, and partial forgiveness of debt after several years. They are available for existing businesses who want to expand, relocate or renovate or for developers of new industrial projects located in any of Chicago's qualifying industrial areas.

Jeff Streder, an assistant commissioner with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, said that IEL program utilizes New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), a federal tax incentive, to reduce financing costs. "We selected U.S. Bank because they are the most active tax credit investor in the country and can bring creative solutions that leverage other forms of financial assistance to help make projects affordable. By selecting U.S. Bank as our exclusive capital provider for this program, we have also been able to keep transaction costs low, which will allow both small and large firms to participate in the program."

Since 2004, U.S. Bank has partnered with more than 70 different certified Community Development Entities like CDF and financed more than 200 NMTC projects in 70 cities and 35 states.

Daniel Reisner, president of U.S. Bank's Chicago region said, "We see a positive transformation taking place with this program in many low income and urban neighborhoods throughout the country and are dedicated to working with CDF to retain and create additional industrial jobs that support our great City." He noted that U.S. Bank will provide both debt and equity capital to finance eligible projects. "Our goal is to identify and fund projects that will trigger significant economic change in a relatively quick time frame."

CDF is a non-profit subsidiary of the City. To learn more about the Industrial Expansion Loan program, or to determine the eligibility of a specific project, please contact Tony Smith or Carmelo Barbaro at S. B. Friedman & Company, [phone]. An application and map of qualifying areas for the program is also available online, on the City of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development website, www.cityofchicago.org/plananddevelop.

U.S. Bancorp's Community Development Corporation, with assets of nearly $4.2 billion, is the largest investor of New Markets Tax Credits in the country. It also finances affordable housing and community development projects through the use of low-income housing and historic tax credits. It is a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), with $228 billion in assets and of U.S. Bank, 6th largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 2,512 banking offices and 4,870 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com. U.S. Bank has 54 full-service branches in the Chicago area.