Kareem Thomas

Kareem Thomas is Chief Credit Officer for Reinvestment Fund and leads our Credit and Lending Administration functions.

In this role, he is responsible for organizational credit risk, lending practices, asset management, and lending administration, which includes loan servicing, loan compliance, and loan closing and disbursements. Kareem is also accountable for and in charge of the systems and processes that produce accurate information and reports on a timely basis for our borrowers, external audits, internal departments, and regulatory organizations. Additionally, he has direct accountability to the performance and outcomes of Reinvestment Fund’s annual AERIS, S&P, and external audit activities, as well as the overall performance of Reinvestment Fund’s $700MM+ loan portfolio.

Since joining Reinvestment Fund in 2021, Kareem has been committed to removing barriers to accessing capital for developers and borrowers of color. Working with key stakeholders internally, in 2021, he and his colleagues, with unanimous Board support, led the overhaul of Reinvestment Fund’s lending policies and risk ratings, as well as implemented changes in outreach, capacity building, and new product development. These new policies and strategic changes provide greater flexibility for Reinvestment Fund to better support borrowers of color.

Growing up in North Central Philadelphia, Kareem knows first-hand the power and impact of community investment, and sees this role in so many ways as the catalyst to helping eliminate poverty in communities across the country.

Prior to Reinvestment Fund, Kareem served as Chief Financial Officer for a nationally recognized for-profit literacy solutions company, and led Small Business Banking, Commercial Lending, Portfolio Management, and Credit Underwriting regions across PA, NJ, and DE for Wells Fargo, Citizens Bank, and Citi.

In 2022, Mr. Thomas was appointed by Philadelphia Mayor James F. Kenney to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations—the City’s Civil Rights and Social Justice Arm.