Housing Funding Availability from Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

Even banks need banks, and in the field of home loans, the bank's banker is the local Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB). Each FHLB is required to "do some good,"  not just lend to local banks.  Two ways that the FHLB serves communities are through the Community Investment Program (CIP) and the Affordable Housing Program (AHP).  AHP is funded with ten percent of the local FHLB's profit.

Of the 12 FHLBs, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC) serves Illinois and Wisconsin.  FHLBC recently announced the availability of $23 million for their AHP program.  Interested organizations should go to to FHLBC's calendar for the traning opportunities.  The AHP funds typically fund homebuyer grants and rental housing development.

Incidentally, they also fund a DownPayment Plus program which in Wisconsin is operated by the Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development.

As you can see from this comparison, there is a significant increase from 2010 to 2011.  The AHP program went from $4.6 million to $23 million, with the maximum subsidy per project also increasing from $300,000 to $750,000.  This increased amount should improve the ability of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit developers to attract investment and also cover the gap between what the tax credit funds and the actual cost of the project.  The DownPayment Plus program also saw a large increase from $1.7 million to $11.6 million.

Side Note: Charles M. Hill, Sr., FHLBC's first Community Investment Officer when the AHP program was created, is the inspiration behind the annual Charles M. Hill, Sr. Award at the A Home For Everyone Conference.  The current Community Investment Officer, Eldridge Edgecombe, is retiring after almost a decade in that position.  Both Mr. Hill and Mr. Edgecombe reportedly will make an appearance at the conference, so if you see either of them (You are going, right?), please thank them for their years of involvement with affordable housing. FHLBC has announced that Mr. Edgecombe's replacement will be Sam Nicita, currently a Senior Vice President at the Bank.