Texas Enterprise Fund
Encyclopedia
The Texas Enterprise Fund is a business incentive fund that was created by legislation in 2003. The fund, which had an initial $295 million investment, is used for ensuring the growth of business in Texas
. One of Texas’ most competitive recruitment tools, these funds are used primarily to attract new business to the state or assist with the substantial expansion of an existing business as part of a competitive recruitment situation. Sources indicate that since 2003 the Fund has yielded up to $6.3 billion in capital investment in Texas by out-of-state companieshttp://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:FeSEKQntB_MJ:www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/004974.html+texas+enterprise+fund+return&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us.
In 2004, he authorized the fund to grant $20 million to Countrywide Financial
in return for a promise "to create 7,500 new jobs in the state by 2010." The grant (all of which are approved by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House) is one of the largest made from the fund in terms of the size and the number of jobs promised. In the fall of 2007, while slashing jobs and with its stock price plummeting, Countrywide was eventually acquired in a fire sale
by Bank of America
. But thanks to the "claw-back" provisions in the program, grantees return all funds to the state for jobs not created.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. One of Texas’ most competitive recruitment tools, these funds are used primarily to attract new business to the state or assist with the substantial expansion of an existing business as part of a competitive recruitment situation. Sources indicate that since 2003 the Fund has yielded up to $6.3 billion in capital investment in Texas by out-of-state companieshttp://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:FeSEKQntB_MJ:www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/004974.html+texas+enterprise+fund+return&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us.
In 2004, he authorized the fund to grant $20 million to Countrywide Financial
Countrywide Financial
Bank of America Home Loans is the mortgage unit of Bank of America. Bank of America Home Loans is composed of:*Mortgage Banking, which originates purchases, securitizes, and services mortgages. In 2008, Bank of America purchased the failing Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion...
in return for a promise "to create 7,500 new jobs in the state by 2010." The grant (all of which are approved by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House) is one of the largest made from the fund in terms of the size and the number of jobs promised. In the fall of 2007, while slashing jobs and with its stock price plummeting, Countrywide was eventually acquired in a fire sale
Fire sale
A fire sale is the sale of goods at extremely discounted prices, typically when the seller faces bankruptcy or other impending distress. The term may originally have been based on the sale of goods at a heavy discount due to fire damage...
by Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
. But thanks to the "claw-back" provisions in the program, grantees return all funds to the state for jobs not created.