Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle Announces $2.3 Million of Affordable Housing Program (AHP) Awards
News Release: December 15, 2011
Contact: Connie Waks
206.340.2305
Seattle – The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle (Seattle Bank) today announced
the award of $2.3 million of 2011 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) funds to support
nine affordable housing projects in four Western states. The AHP funding will help
to provide 189 units of housing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households
in Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, including households with special needs,
homeless individuals and families, veterans, and farmworkers.
The Seattle Bank is a wholesale financial cooperative, and it distributes AHP funding through its community financial institution members, who work with for-profit and nonprofit organizations in their communities to address local housing needs. In 2011, four of the nine projects receiving AHP awards will be located in rural areas, and five will be located in urban areas. One of the projects awarded will support homeownership, and eight will provide affordable rental housing. Seven of the projects will reserve at least 20 percent of their units for households with special needs, six projects will serve the homeless, two projects will provide housing to veterans, one will serve Native peoples, and one will provide housing to farmworkers.
Since the program’s inception in 1990, the Seattle Bank’s AHP has contributed $142.8 million to help finance nearly 27,200 affordable rental and owner-occupied homes for families or individuals earning 80 percent or less of their area’s median income. AHP awards are allocated through a competitive application process and may be used to fund the acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction of new or existing housing structures, to reduce mortgage principal or interest rates on loans, or to provide downpayment and closing cost assistance.
In addition to the AHP, the Seattle Bank supports affordable housing and community and economic development projects through its Home$tart Program, Community Investment Program (CIP), and Economic Development Fund (EDF). Since its inception in 1995, the Home$tart Program has disbursed $42.2 million of downpayment assistance to more than 8,500 first-time homebuyers, and since their inception in 1990, the CIP and EDF have provided $3.6 billion of reduced-rate loans supporting over 49,000 units of affordable housing and nearly 360 economic development projects.
Additional information regarding the
Seattle Bank’s 2011 AHP awards
and community investment programs is available on the Seattle Bank’s website at www.fhlbsea.com.
About the Seattle Bank
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle is a financial cooperative that provides liquidity, funding, and services to enhance the success of its members and support the availability of affordable homes and economic development in the communities they serve. Our funding and financial services enable approximately 360 community financial institutions to provide their customers with greater access to mortgages, commercial lending, and affordable housing. The Seattle Bank commits 10 percent of its annual profits to help fund affordable housing.
The Seattle Bank serves eight states, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Our members include commercial banks, credit unions, thrifts, industrial loan corporations, and insurance companies.
The Seattle Bank is one of 12 Federal Home Loan Banks in the United States. Together, the Federal Home Loan Banks represent one of the country’s largest private sources of liquidity and funding for community financial institutions, as well as funding for affordable housing.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risk and uncertainty. These forward-looking statements may contain terms such as “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could,” “should,” and “anticipate” and describe our expectations regarding future events and developments. Future events are difficult to predict, and actual events, actions, or results may differ from those we currently anticipate. Any forward-looking statements made in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake to update any such statements.
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