U.S. Treasury awards $70 million to Arvest Bank subsidiary

Arvest Bank announced Monday (Jan. 26) that its non-bank subsidiary, the Arvest Opportunity Fund, was awarded $70 million of new market tax credits to support the retention and creation of jobs through manufacturing projects and to increase health care accessibility across its four-state service area.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury awarded the credits as part of a record $10 billion distribution. According to the department, the awards support affordable housing, small business growth, domestic manufacturing and community infrastructure such as rural hospitals.

The Arvest Opportunity Fund was a first-time applicant and one of 142 community development entities selected nationwide in the combined 2024-25 allocation round.

With the $70 million, the Arvest Opportunity Fund will focus on Kansas and other underserved regions, according to a news release. Priority will be given to projects that expand medical services and create jobs with competitive wages.

“These projects meet critical community needs but often struggle to secure traditional financing due to a deficit in the financing structure,” said Hillis Schild, executive director of the Arvest Opportunity Fund. “This allocation will help support our goal of providing economic stability for families and businesses, helping to create healthier communities.”

The Arvest Opportunity Fund was created in 2022. It provides loans and financial education to small businesses and people who don’t meet traditional bank credit requirements. In late 2024, the organization became certified as a community development entity by the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank has total assets of $27.34 billion.