NEW YORK — One of the most immediate and tangible effects of aBarack Obama Administration may be an easing of the pressure on theU.S. Treasury Department's Community Development FinancialInstitution's fund.

During its tenure, the Bush administration kept the programunder some degree of constant pressure, cutting its fundingrecommendations and, one year, trying to eliminate it altogether.Each time supporters, including many community development creditunions rallied to protect the fund and Congress restored thefunding, often at the previous year's levels or even a little bitlower.

But there are signs that an Obama administration would bring adifferent set of priorities and support to the fund, according toClifford Rosenthal, CEO of the National Federation of CommunityDevelopment Credit Unions

“First, Barack Obama has support for CDFIs as part of hisplatform,” Rosenthal said. “True, it's not a lengthy mention, butit's in there. We are all also very encouraged that Obama comesfrom the South Side of Chicago, the home of Shore Bank, one of themost prominent and successful CDFIs.”

A number of people from Shore Bank are likely to be parts of theObama administration, Rosenthal said, and he anticipates thatcommunity development credit unions and CDFIs will havesignificantly more access to the new administration than they didwith the old one.