NCSHA: FHFA Proposes Changes to FHLB Affordable Housing Program

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued March 6 a proposed rule that would amend the Federal Home Loans Banks’ (FHLB) Affordable Housing Program (AHP). The proposal is designed to give FHLBs more flexibility in administering and targeting their AHP programs to meet specific housing needs. FHFA will hold a webinar to explain the proposed changes on Tuesday, March 27 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Federal law requires each FHLB to contribute ten percent of their annual earnings to set up their own AHP. AHP funding is used to finance homeownership opportunities for low- or moderate-income households (those with incomes at 80 percent or less of the area median income) and the development and rehabilitation of affordable multifamily housing (in which at least 20 percent of units are affordable to renters earning 50 percent of area median income or below). From 1990 through 2016, the FHLBs used $5.4 billion in AHP financing to subsidize the development of 660,000 affordable rental units and assist 167,000 homebuyers.