FANNIE MAE MAKES IT HAPPEN

 Fort Collins , CO , April 27, 2007 – Funding Partners, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), is proud to announce a formal partnership with Fannie Mae to greatly increase resources for addressing the housing needs of Colorado ’s workforce.

Fannie Mae, a private company with a public mission, has extended a credit facility in the amount of $1,000,000 in support of Funding Partners’ Mammel Affordable Housing Loan Fund (MAHLF).  The fund represents a significant source of capital for making loans to both non-profit, for-profit and public agencies that seek to acquire, develop, rehabilitate or otherwise preserve rental and ownership housing units reserved for households earning approximately $17 per hour, per working adult.  The credit facility terms allow Funding Partners to offer below-market loan terms to its borrowers in order to hold down the cost of financing qualified projects across the state.

At all levels of government, direct financial support for housing programs is rapidly declining, creating a vacuum not easily filled by the private sector.  However, innovative and opportunistic partnerships have seized upon this trend to reinvigorate community and economic development initiatives.  Indeed, the decline of entitlement funding should be viewed as an opportunity that creates greater accountability and efficiency within the affordable housing system.

According to Joe Rowan, Executive Director for Funding Partners, “Rather than bemoaning the loss of public subsidy, organizations like Fannie Mae recognize this situation for what it truly is – an unprecedented opportunity to fill the void in a changing environment.  Through strategic partnerships, the private-sector is able to deliver tremendous public benefit across the housing spectrum with considerable efficiency.  Together, Fannie Mae, Funding Partners, local governments, private developers and not-for-profit agencies are delivering capital at the point of greatest impact.”   

Under its community mission to attract and consolidate resources for creation and preservation of safe, adequate housing that remains affordable to low and moderate-income households, Funding Partners has developed a reputation for expanding access to capital to demographic markets and geographic regions underserved by traditional financial institutions.  Since the inception of its loan programs in 1997, FP has accumulated over $9.3 million in loan fund capital and manages an additional $2.6 million on behalf of other organizations dedicated to serving similar markets. 

Through August 2006, FP has originated 1,163 loans with volume in excess of $19 million through its loan funds, representing 2,789 housing units in 26 counties across the state.  Total costs of all housing projects exceed $301 million for a leverage rate of 15.8 to 1.   Contrary to common perception, loans made directly to low and moderate households through the House to Home Ownership (H2O) Down Payment Assistance Program® and organizations that serve that population through the MAHLF program consistently perform much better than traditional loan products.  Cumulative losses since inception equal $208,582, or 1.17% of the combined loan portfolio, despite well-documented foreclosure and bankruptcy activity plaguing the general housing market. 

In 1938, the Federal government established Fannie Mae to expand the flow of mortgage money by creating a secondary market. Fannie Mae was authorized to buy Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages, thereby replenishing the supply of lendable money.  In 1968, Fannie Mae became a private company operating with private capital on a self-sustaining basis. Its role was expanded to buy mortgages beyond traditional government loan limits, reaching out to a broader cross-section of Americans. 

Today, Fannie Mae operates under a congressional charter that directs the company to channel efforts into increasing the availability and affordability of homeownership for low- moderate-, and middle-income Americans. Yet Fannie Mae receives no government funding or backing, and is one of the nation's largest taxpayers.

For more information, please visit www.fanniemae.com.  

For more information, visit www.fundingpartners.org.