Capital Plus Financial, one of the country’s largest and most innovative Community Development Financial Institutions, a Certified B Corporation and subsidiary of Crossroads Systems, Inc. (OTCQX: CRSS), announced today that Thiru Vignarajah has been named its new CEO. A seasoned public and private sector leader, Vignarajah previously served as deputy attorney general of Maryland and as a litigation partner at the global law firm of DLA Piper.
An immigrant and son of Baltimore City public school teachers, Vignarajah studied at Yale University and Harvard Law School, where he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review. Vignarajah also worked at McKinsey & Co., served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and was a federal and city prosecutor in Baltimore. In a Forbes profile in 2018, Vignarajah was described as a “once in a generation leader.”
“Capital Plus has emerged as a national leader in tackling the barriers that fuel the racial wealth gap, from access to capital and low financial literacy to discrimination in mortgage lending and lack of credit history,” said Capital Plus Financial CEO Vignarajah. “This is a pioneering community financial institution that is not just talking about these longstanding problems, but finding ways to solve them. I am honored by the opportunity to build on this success and continue this mission-driven work.”
A mission-driven financial institution dedicated to promoting economic inclusivity and community development, Capital Plus Financial works to expand homeownership among people of color and played a major role in supporting small businesses, particularly minority-owned businesses, during the pandemic. This past year, in addition to a loan portfolio balance that grew to more than $130 million, CPF helped small businesses survive the pandemic, approving nearly 480,000 PPP loans amounting to $7.6 billion, more than 80% of which went directly to companies and independent contractors of color.
Nationally, Capital Plus was ranked the fourth largest PPP lender by net dollar amount and the second largest by the number of loans approved.
“Thiru’s personal journey and record of leadership and service embody the values that define Capital Plus. It is hard to imagine a better person to help write the next chapter of our remarkable story,” said former Capital Plus Financial CEO Eric Donnelly, who will remain CEO of the holding company, Crossroads Systems, Inc. (OTCQX: CRSS).
Capital Plus’ decision to name Vignarajah — a proven leader in public and private sector ventures — as its next CEO underscores the company’s continued commitment to dismantling barriers that have prevented small businesses, communities of color, and the underbanked from achieving economic equality.
About Capital Plus Financial:
CPF believes minority-owned small businesses and people of color are entitled to equal opportunities in the banking system and is committed to breaking down barriers in communities that have been disenfranchised, underserved, underbanked and underfunded.
Capital Plus Financial is a certified CDFI and Certified B-Corp. B Corps meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. The B Corp Certification doesn’t just evaluate a product or service, it assesses the overall positive impact of the company that stands behind it. To achieve B Corp Certification, a company must achieve a score of at least 80 points on the assessment. The overall B Corp Impact score for Capital Plus Financial is 99.2.
