In Briefs: Minority Lending Expert Picked to Lead Amerifirst

Amerifirst Mortgage Corp., a midsize lender with 12 offices in the Northeast, has named a veteran specialist in low-income housing to succeed its president.

Alexander A. Avella Jr., president of Hempstead, N.Y.-based Amerifirst, announced that senior vice president Bentley Whitfield would take the helm in the spring of 1997, when Mr. Avella is to retire.

Mr. Whitfield was hired in 1992 to further Amerifirst's efforts in urban and minority lending. He was a portfolio manager at the Local Initiatives Support Corp., where he managed more than $500 million in government- supported housing improvement projects supported.

Mr. Avella announced the promotion of Mr. Whitfield after receiving an award at an Urban League banquet.

He said the appointment had less to do with Mr. Whitfield's being black than with the similarity of their philosophies about reaching out to low- and moderate-income borrowers.

Mr. Whitfield said: "I think most mortgage bankers go to real estate brokers and ask them for deals. I want to go out and teach the community and tell them there is a chance for them to buy and own a home."

Amerifirst currently holds seminars in

black and Hispanic communities, Mr. Whitfield said. Attendees can be prequalified for a loan at the seminar, and can then look for a house knowing how much they have to spend.

Mr. Whitfield said he would continue the education programs he started in minority and other communities, and eventually launch an advertising program on radio, television, and the Internet.

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