Dealflow | July 1, 2020

Netflix to move $100 million in cash deposits to lenders in Black communities

Dennis Price
ImpactAlpha Editor

Dennis Price

ImpactAlpha, June 30 – Streaming giant Netflix said on Tuesday it is moving 2% of its cash holdings, or $100 million, to Black-owned lenders, businesses and institutions.

The moves include a $25 million investment into the Black Economic Development Initiative, a fund managed by Local Initiatives Support Corp., for bridge loans, participation loans and bank deposits in Black-owned institutions. Netflix also deposited $10 million with Hope Credit Union, led by Bill Bynum, to lend in underserved communities across the Deep South.

  • Corporate capital. How companies deploy their cash reserves is becoming an issue of  governance, the ‘G’ in ESG (see, “Stakeholders stake new claims on corporate cash to finance an inclusive recovery,”). The move from Netflix follows Google’s carve out of $120 million from its balance sheet to make low-interest loans to community development finance institutions, or CDFIs, as well as another $45 million in loans and $5 million in grants specifically for Black-owned businesses.
  • Move your cash. “If every company in the S&P 500 allocated a modest amount of their cash holdings into efforts like the Black Economic Development Initiative, each one percent of their cash would represent $20-$30 billion of new capital,” write Netflix’s Aaron Mitchell and Shannon Alwyn.