Fannie Mae Announces Ten-point Plan to Increase Minority Homeownership

June 19, 2002

In President Bush's radio address on June 15, 2002, he challenged "the real estate industry leaders to join with the government, with non-profit organizations, and with private sector financial institutions in a major nationwide effort to increase minority homeownership."

In response to that challenge, Fannie Mae's Chairman and CEO, Franklin D. Raines, joined President Bush in Atlanta for White House events to promote the Administration's proposal to expand minority homeownership. Raines announced Fannie Mae's new ten-point plan to help advance the Bush Administration's homeownership proposals and increase our own commitment to minority homeownership.

  1. Fannie Mae will invest at least $700 billion through 2009 to provide home financing to 4.6 million minority households. This expands by 66 percent the specific pledge we made in 2000 to minority families in our American Dream Commitment plan to provide $420 billion for three million minority families.
  2. Fannie Mae will create and market to lenders a new mortgage product designed specifically to meet the unique needs of New Americans, and linked to the Administration's immigration initiatives.
  3. Fannie Mae will leverage Section 8 homeownership funding by providing secondary mortgage market financing for first mortgages where Section 8 is a source of repayment.
  4. Fannie Mae will purchase Single Family Affordable Housing Tax Credits proposed by your Administration upon enactment, while also maintaining at least our current level of investment in Low Income Housing Tax Credits as the nation's largest investor in these tax credits.
  5. Fannie Mae will create a $100 million Housing Solutions Initiative to provide financing for properties eligible for Low Income Housing Tax Credits but considered exceptionally difficult to finance.
  6. Fannie Mae will further expand our relationships with community based and faith-based partners, adding at least three additional partners to support home buyer and mortgage product information through community-based networks. We also will establish outreach and partnerships with at least 100 churches, synagogues, mosques and other faith-based institutions.
  7. Fannie Mae will make our first-time home buyer and financial literacy materials, and Home Counselor Online, available at no charge to any counseling organization to enable them to increase efficiency, track clients, and more effectively manage case loads and reporting functions to HUD.
  8. Fannie Mae will develop and provide to lenders and others "model" marketing kits in different languages for specific mortgage products aimed at new borrowers.
  9. Fannie Mae will develop at least 100 employer-assisted housing alliances each year, with particular emphasis on employers with large numbers of minority employees.
  10. Fannie Mae will develop and market to lenders products that will help rescue borrowers from predatory lending.

The President welcomed our increased commitment and said, "It's a commitment that conforms to their [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] charters as well, and also conforms to their hearts. This means they will purchase more loans made by banks to African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities, which will encourage homeownership."

In the President's concluding remarks he stated, "I'm serious about this. This is a very important initiative for all of America. See, it is a chance for us to empower people. We're not going to talk about empowering government, we're talking about empowering people so they have got choices over their lives."

The Bush Administration's minority homeownership proposal underscores the strong support that housing continues to enjoy in Washington. The President's commitment to affordable homeownership could not be more evident today. The Administration's confidence in Fannie Mae to help achieve its policy agenda is an affirmation of our mission to tear down barriers, lower costs, and increase the opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing for all Americans.

Source: Fannie Mae


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