Rebuilding Rural America: The Southern Development Bancorporation

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Abstract
The Southern Development Bancorporation is a development bank based in rural Arkansas. The term “bank” is in some sense a misnomer; Southern is actually a collection of five development companies, for-profit and nonprofit, only one of which is a regulated bank. The other four groups are a venture capital fund, a real estate development corporation, a self-employment microenterprise program, and a manufacturing services program. Founded in 1988, Southern delivers a range of financial and nonfinancial assistance to rural companies with the intent of expanding local firms and thus creating jobs and an improved economic base for the region. Since 1988, Southern has lent or invested $19 million in 150 firms in a 32-county region of rural Arkansas. This article examines Southern's present activity, how it is working to achieve its goals, and what insights it has gained to date in the challenging task of developing the rural economy.

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