A New Capitalism

In A New Capitalism, Frank Altman, a legendary figure in the Community Development Finance industry, offers a systematic argument for why and how American capitalism can be extended to people from every walk of life, including those from low-income census tracks. He explores the history and cultural realities that have created an unequal financial playing field, particularly for BIPOC communities and how innovative approaches can create sound investment devices and exponential growth in minority and women-owned businesses and increase levels of home ownership. Altman exposes the false belief held by many that capitalism operates at greatest efficiency when only focused on increasing the wealth of the richest segments of a population and offers clear evidence how American capitalism has always existed within a regulated system.

He expounds upon the myopia, cultural ignorance, and willful prejudice that contribute to entrenched systematic policies and processes that further expand the wealth gap.

By identifying the current moment as transformative for capital markets due to the financial disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, Altman offers pragmatic alterations to existing investment programs, expands on historically successful examples of innovative investment approaches, and outlines next steps that can ensure more people will benefit from the wealth capitalist systems produce.

In a time of extreme financial market uncertainty, Altman designs a roadmap for navigating precarious investment conditions and increasing the impact of investment to benefit those historically locked out of financial opportunity. Through numerous examples, including those developed by the nonprofit community finance organization he founded, Community Reinvestment Fund, USA, Altman offers clear evidence how lives can be bettered, futures altered, and entire communities transformed through the creation of ESG - minded investment strategies. Among the programs elucidated within A New Capitalism, are the New Markets Tax Credits, The Detroit Home Mortgage, Small Business Administration loans, the Payroll Protection Program, and the Bond Guarantee Program. As the book also demonstrates, the kinds of approaches and strategies on which Altman focuses now extend into all financial and investment institutions and have critically important applications for those far beyond Community Development Financial Institutions.