When the historic St. James Hotel in Selma, Ala., reopened Jan. 26, it was a banner day for Woodforest National Bank.
The $8.3 billion-asset Woodforest, headquartered about 650 miles west of Selma in The Woodlands, Texas, invested $2 million in the redevelopment of the 184-year-old St. James, which is expected to create 45 good-paying jobs. The equity stake came as part of a larger, $22 million investment fund that Woodforest believes can serve as a prototype for banks interested in leveraging opportunity zones for Community Reinvestment Act credit.