LENDING
FirstBank Commits $60 Million to Support Affordable Housing Initiatives Across Colorado
Simon Kafati FirstBank Assistant Vice President, Mortgage & Consumer Lending
Bank partners with Habitat for Humanity Colorado and Impact Development Fund to strengthen communities through homeownership amid economic challenges
“Colorado already had an affordable housing crisis, and then the pandemic hit,” said Jim Reuter, CEO of FirstBank. “Unfortunately, the growing need for affordable housing options has only increased as we navigate through extraordinary times. We’re hopeful this commitment will put owning a home within reach for many Coloradoans, and positively impact hundreds of deserving families across the state.”
FirstBank, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks with a focus on “banking for good,” announced a $60 million commitment to help mitigate the affordable housing crisis in Colorado. The bank pledged $30 million in support to both Habitat for Humanity (Habitat) and Impact Development Fund (IDF), two nonprofit organizations dedicated to developing and preserving affordable homes and communities.
So far, the bank has purchased $15 million in mortgages from Habitat, best known for its affordable homeownership program; building strength, stability and self-reliance through housing. Habitat Vail Valley’s Elyse Howard, one of many affiliates utilizing the program shared, “The FirstBank Loan Purchase program has been critical to Habitat Vail Valley's ability to increase our local home building capacity. This generous new commitment of $60 million from FirstBank will go a long way toward helping Coloradoans achieve housing stability.”
As part of its commitment, FirstBank will purchase a total of $60 million in mortgages from both Habitat and IDF, providing needed capital to these organizations, so they can, in turn, build and preserve more homes and communities for low-income families.
FirstBank also recently began purchasing mortgages from IDF, a nonprofit that connects organizations across the state with the development financing and technical assistance needed to create, rehabilitate and preserve housing for low to moderate income residents. This will enable the organization’s affiliate partners, which include local Habitat chapters, to significantly increase financing capacity for affordable housing initiatives.
This comes at a critical time when economic effects of COVID-19 has made homeownership even less obtainable for many Coloradoans, who were already feeling the financial burdens of the state’s affordable housing crunch. According to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, about 280,000 Coloradans are “severely burdened,” meaning at least 50 percent of their income goes toward housing.
“The pandemic has compounded the equity gap for many families in our state and we are likely to see the
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