NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Citi Community Development and Springboard Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) announced the expansion of Springboard’s innovative nonprofit mortgage loan origination platform to 13 states in 2018.
With $1 million in support from Citi Community Development, Springboard CDFI will deploy its loan origination platform and full suite of consumer-facing tools and technology to members of the Nationwide Mortgage Collaborative (NMC), a national coalition of leading non-profit housing counseling agencies and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The expansion will build the capacity of the NMC to deliver responsible mortgage credit access for low- to moderate-income, minority, rural, and other underserved first-time homebuyers.
More than 100 CDFIs and housing counseling agencies will be on-boarded to the platform with the objective of closing over $220 million in home loans by the end of 2019. Citi Community Development’s support will cover the legal, administrative, and onboarding costs required to be licensed, compliant and operational in each of the new states.
“CDFIs and housing counseling agencies are vital community intermediaries with the opportunity to provide the affordable credit access and homeownership education that first-time homebuyers need. But the complexity of mortgages and the associated rigorous and costly compliance requirements mean that many CDFIs have been unable to develop the loan platforms and economies of scale to originate responsible mortgages,” said Bob Annibale, Global Director of Citi Community Development and Inclusive Finance. “By investing in Springboard CDFI and the Nationwide Mortgage Collaborative, our hope is that many CDFIs and nonprofits will for the first time, have the capabilities to make homeownership a reality in the communities they serve resulting in a more inclusive and responsible mortgage delivery system.”
“We are so grateful for this collaboration, as it allows us to enable the mission driven members of the NMC to provide better access to a marketplace of affordable mortgage credit for the communities they each serve. Our sustainable model is designed to help organizations engage with their market through technology that is accessible on any device, while providing resources and tools that help consumers prepare for homeownership and a loan approval for the best possible financing,” explains Gabe del Rio, President of Springboard CDFI & Nationwide Mortgage Collaborative. “Above all, we stay focused on the reason we’re all doing such difficult work: the all-too-often-marginalized yet hard-working average person or family in this country; who with our help and care can safely attain the dream of owning their own home, enjoy the stability it provides, and gain wealth that changes their family’s lives for generations.”
With Citi Community Development’s investment, Springboard will expand upon the pilot phase and continue to provide more partner CDFIs and HUD approved organizations full utilization of a suite of technology and loan packaging capabilities, including:
- Customizable web-tool co-branded for each partner enabling clients to assess their mortgage readiness
- Loan shopping tool that searches and presents home loan options and down payment assistance programs
- Loan packaging service contracts for partner CDFIs and nonprofit organizations that help them sustainably serve underserved communities with access to affordable credit from a wide range of bank and GSE product investors
- Homebuyer education materials and curriculum, which also is also branded and adapted for each partnering organization
- Counseling agreements for on-going revenue support from Springboard CDFI through the NMC for each partnering HUD-approved housing counseling agency
- Training for the partner staff on operating systems, new mortgage and down payment assistance product offerings, mortgage readiness and loan packaging
In the U.S., owning a home is still seen by a majority of Americans as the primary pathway to building long-term wealth. A survey by the National Association of Realtors found that 84 percent of Americans believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision - the highest number since 2007. But for many first-time homebuyers, the realization of homeownership is increasingly elusive. According to the Census Bureau, homeownership rates among households living on lower incomes stands at 50.2 percent, significantly lower than the national rate of 64.2 percent.
With early-stage support from Citi Community Development and the Ford Foundation in 2016, the Springboard loan platform is already fully operational, licensed, and being used by Nationwide Mortgage Collaborative members in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Illinois. In 2018, Springboard will continue onboarding and deploying licensed states, while pursuing more licensing and developing partnerships among nonprofit partners in: Colorado; Connecticut; District of Columbia; Maryland; Kentucky, Georgia, Massachusetts; New Jersey; New York; Oregon; Tennessee, Ohio and Washington.
“As Illinois’ largest nonprofit lender, we know through our close ties with the communities we serve that many Chicagoans are still unable to achieve the American Dream of owning a home,” said Kristin Faust, President of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago. “Our membership in NMC has greatly increased our ability to make homeownership a reality for many more families in a way that is responsible, sustainable and scalable.”
“We’re excited to be a part of the NMC, enhancing our access to affordable credit for the communities we serve,” said Clemente Mojica, President & CEO Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services (NPHS) in Ontario California. “The loan origination platform, consumer-facing tools and technology are enabling us to achieve our mission with potential for scale we could never have accomplished alone.”
About Citi Community Development
Citi Community Development
leads Citi’s commitment to financial inclusion and economic empowerment
for underserved individuals, families and communities across the U.S.
Through innovative collaborations with municipalities, community groups
and leading nonprofit organizations, we harness Citi’s expertise,
products and services to help expand opportunity for all.
Additional information may be found at http://citicommunitydevelopment.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi
About Springboard CDFI, dba Nationwide Mortgage Collaborative (NMC)
Springboard
CDFI’s mission is to bridge the wealth gap in America by provide scaled
solutions and access to capital, with a focus on first time homebuyers,
people of color, and rural communities. Founded in 1982 in San Diego CA
and now headquartered in Riverside CA, Springboard CDFI is the only
national nonprofit CDFI mortgage bank, providing origination and lending
on behalf of bank and GSE investors and government home loan programs.
Visit mortgagecollaborative.org
for more information.
