Federal Home Loan Bank Inaugurates Funding Partners 

Fort Collins, CO, July 7, 2008 - Funding Partners, a not-for-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has become the first revolving loan fund in the country to receive an investment of capital from a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank system.  Under the Affordable Housing Program, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka becomes the first bank to authorize and approve funding under regulations adopted by the Federal Finance Board in 2006.

The $450,000 award will be deployed within the Mammel Affordable Housing Loan Fund (MAHLF), a highly adaptive “gap” loan fund offered to both non-profit and for-profit organizations.  MAHLF supports the development, construction, acquisition, rehabilitation or preservation of both rental and owner-occupied housing for low and moderate-income households within Colorado. Terms offer flexible repayment schedules according to the needs of the project and maturity within 3 years, or less.  The number of housing units preserved or created in 2007 included 344 rental housing units and 12 single family ownership units which represented a 48.3% increase over 2006 and 46.5% increase over the 3-year average of 113 units. Since program inception in 1997 through 2007, FP has originated 62 project-based loans representing $14,360,945 in volume; 2,272 housing units created or preserved; and, leveraged $205,001,478 in equity and commercial financing. Since 1997, delinquency remains at 0% with no losses incurred since program inception.

The FHLB system’s Affordable Housing Program is the largest privately funded housing grant program in the United States.  The FHLBanks provide billions of dollars of primary liquidity to approximately 80% of the nation's financial institutions. By providing this assured liquidity to its members, the FHLBank System allows member institutions to remain active lenders, in all economic cycles, to help their local economies grow.

"The mission of the Federal Home Loan Banks is to provide cost-effective funding to members for use in housing, community, and economic development; to provide regional affordable housing programs, which create housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families; to support housing finance through advances and mortgage programs; and to serve as a reliable source of liquidity for its membership." FHLBanks and their members are the largest source of residential mortgage and community development credit in the United States.

Ten percent of the FHLBank’s gross earnings go to the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), a special program authorized by the Finance Board’s Community Investment Cash Advance (CICA) regulations. Through the use of subsidized advances and direct subsidies, the AHP helps members provide long-term lending for owner-occupied and rental housing that is affordable to very low-, low- and moderate-income households. Since its inception in 1989, AHP has provided over $2.9 billion dollars in grants to help create 575,000 housing units.

“The Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka is pleased to be a part of this innovative effort undertaken by Funding Partners to respond to affordable housing needs in Colorado.” Chris Imming, Director of Housing and Community Development, FHLBank Topeka

For more information on the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka visit www.fhlbtopeka.com

For more information visit www.fundingpartners.org