Five Questions With: Mark Cousineau

MARK COUSINEAU is president at the Community Investment Corp., a Connecticut-based community development corporation. / COURTESY COMMUNITY INVESTMENT CORP.
MARK COUSINEAU is president at the Community Investment Corp., a Connecticut-based community development corporation. / COURTESY COMMUNITY INVESTMENT CORP.

Mark Cousineau is president at the Community Investment Corp., a Connecticut-based community development corporation. While lending in Rhode Island for several years, the group recently opened its first Rhode Island offices in Providence. He talks with Providence Business News about the CIC, its efforts in Rhode Island and how the state’s economy compares with Connecticut.
PBN: What is Community Investment Corp. and what type of lending do you specialize in?
COUSINEAU:
Community Investment Corp. is an economic-development lender providing financing and business counseling to small businesses in Rhode Island and Connecticut. We specialize in two separate and distinct types of economic development finance – incentive and capital access. CIC uses three U.S. Small Business Administration programs to accomplish that. The SBA’s 504 Program incentivizes small businesses to purchase fixed assets for their own use by providing 90 percent financing in partnership with a bank. The typical 504 Program borrower is an established small business in growth mode. Compare that to CIC’s two access-to-capital programs, Community Advantage 7(a) and microloan. Those programs marry financing and consulting services to assist applicants who are not quite ready for traditional bank financing.
PBN: You’ve been operating in Rhode Island for a while now, but just recently opened offices here. Why?
COUSINEAU:
We entered the Rhode Island market, along with numerous other SBA 504 lenders, in 2004 when SBA first authorized expansion of local lending territories. As one of four or five new 504 lenders entering the state, we didn’t see a business opportunity large enough to support dedicated staffing and a location in Rhode Island. In late 2014, CIC was approved to be an SBA Community Advantage lender in Connecticut and Rhode Island and at the same time we sought and obtained approval to expand our microloan program into Rhode Island. Then in 2015, we entered into discussions with Commerce R.I. to participate in their new small business loan initiatives. Given the robust additions to our Rhode Island offerings, we secured space at the Social Enterprise Greenhouse at 10 Davol [Square] in Providence, which puts CIC in the thick of the entrepreneurial scene that is blossoming in the city.
PBN: How does the Rhode Island borrowing market – for CDCs – compare with Connecticut?
COUSINEAU:
On a per-capita basis (maybe not the best indicator but an easy one to assess), the Rhode Island market had better SBA 504 penetration than Connecticut. Some of this may be attributable to the crowded CDC space in Rhode Island, and the positive impact of competition on banks’ awareness and use of the program.
PBN: What does that tell you about the economy here?
COUSINEAU:
Rhode Island’s economy is clearly recovering faster than Connecticut’s economy. For example, CoreLogic just published its foreclosure inventory rates for October. Rhode Island’s rate was 28 percent lower than Connecticut’s rate. We view this as significant, given that foreclosure inventories depress overall housing prices. Home equity is a traditional source businessmen access to start up or expand their operations. Until there is a healthy housing market, small businesses will remain “home equity strapped.” Rhode Island’s market, while lagging the national average, continues to improve at a faster pace than Connecticut. It’s a good sign for the economy.
PBN: How does CIC differentiate itself from other CDCs?
COUSINEAU:
There are a number of quality CDCs like CIC that operate in Rhode Island and will do a great job with the program. CIC is different because it offers access to capital-loan programs in addition to the SBA 504 Program following traditional economic-development finance models that include business consulting services. We leverage the cash surplus generated by our SBA 504 Program to fund our programs targeting the underserved. For our banking partners, those programs are an additional resource to their customers. Instead of a cold declination, bankers can offer warm referrals to CIC for a second look and an opportunity for the applicant to receive counseling services that may make a difference in getting a loan. Of course, from a business model perspective, all things flow from the SBA 504, so we ask our partners to support our access-to-capital efforts by partnering with us on SBA 504 deals as well.

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