In Brief: B of A, Agency Offer Loan Plan for Indians

BankAmerica Mortgage and Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority have started a no-down-payment mortgage program for low- income Native American tribe members in Sonoma County, Calif.

The program is offered to members of the Dry Creek and Stewarts Point tribes who want to buy homes in off-reservation sites.

BankAmerica Mortgage and the alternative finance program of the housing authority will originate affordable, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, BankAmerica said. The initiative is part of Bank of America's community reinvestment commitment to do $115 billion of affordable housing lending in the next 10 years.

Potential customers will get financial counseling and must have a stable income below 80% of the median income for the county, the bank said.