CDFI fund freezes new CDE applications: Why it could matter for aluminum and recycled metals

Starting June 2, the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund is putting a pause on new applications for Community Development Entity (CDE) certification. They’re calling it a blackout period. It’s temporary, for now, but it’s something to watch, especially if you’re in construction or metals.

CDE certification is what organizations need to apply for New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs). That program helps get real projects off the ground in underserved areas. We’re talking grocery stores, health clinics, light manufacturing, and mixed-use developments. These are real buildings that use real materials. Aluminum and recycled metals are a big part of them.

This pause doesn’t affect the current round of funding or any group that’s already certified. But it shuts the door to any new applicants, at least for now. That means fewer new players, fewer new projects, and potentially a slowdown in future construction activity, especially in the kinds of neighborhoods that rely on NMTC funding to make the numbers work.

And this isn’t happening in a vacuum. The freeze on new CDE applications is just one part of a bigger regulatory “blackout” that’s been going on since late 2022. The CDFI Fund is overhauling how it certifies Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and that pause has locked up other programs too, from bond guarantees to certain target market adjustments. If your project or partner relies on one of those resources, chances are it’s jammed up too.

Aluminum is a staple in commercial construction. You see it in windows, curtain walls, ductwork, roofs, and door frames, just to name a few. And recycled metals show up everywhere, especially in older building rehabs or green-certified projects. When you tear down or upgrade, those metals go right back into the supply chain. These tax-credit-funded projects drive both demand for new aluminum and supply of recycled metal.

There’s no clean number on how much aluminum was used or how much recycled material came out of NMTC-backed projects. But the scale of the program speaks for itself.

How much the NMTC program actually moved

Year	Total allocation	# of CDEs awarded
2023	$5.0 billion	102
2022	$5.0 billion	107
2021	$5.0 billion	100
2020	$3.5 billion	76
2019	$3.5 billion	73
Total since 2000	$81 billion+	1,667 total awards

Source: CDFI Fund, Novogradac

That’s serious money, and the square footage tied to it is even more telling. Over 268 million square feet of commercial space has been built or upgraded with NMTC support. All of it uses materials. And metals, especially aluminum, are front and center.

This might sound like a quiet policy change buried deep in a federal agency, but it matters. When public financing slows, materials demand slows. If this freeze drags on, or gets folded into something more permanent, the ripple effects will show up first in metals markets. Recycled or not.

Worth keeping an eye on.