The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco said last week awarded its member institutions $8.2 million, more than $500,000 of it to credit unions, to help them finance mortgages for low-income first-time homebuyers.
The FHLB awarded $4.1 million to help finance downpayments for participants in the Individual Development Empowerment Account Program, and $4.1 million for the Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership Program. The bank's matching grants may be used for downpayment and/or closing costs.
The credit union recipients are: Arizona FCU, Meriwest CU, University & State Employees CU, Santa Cruz Community CU, AEA FCU, Arrowhead Central CU and Travis CU.
The awards are significant because CUs get just a small percentage of the millions of dollars in affordable housing grants handed out by the 12 FHLBs. But small matching grant awards like those offered first-time homebuyers offer the best opportunity for credit unions to share in FHLB largesse.
