Citi Foundation Provides Grant to Help Texas Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure Scams

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To help Texas homeowners in distress avoid predatory operators of foreclosure prevention scams, the Citi Foundation has awarded a grant of $30,000 to the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation to support the Texas Foreclosure Scam Mitigation Initiative.  The Initiative is a program of the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, a statewide alliance that informs at-risk borrowers of the options available to them, links them with certified counseling services and increases the capacity of local counseling organizations.  The Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force will work with the Federal Trade Commission and Texas Office of the Attorney General to conduct foreclosure prevention events for borrowers, throughout the state of Texas.

Mark Nerio, Citi Community Officer, presented the check to Bob Jones, Board Chair of the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC), at TSAHC's Board Meeting in Austin, Texas.  Also in attendance were TSAHC Board Members Cynthia Leon, Jeran Akers, and William Dietz as well as TSAHC President and Co-Chair of the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, David Long.

"This is an extremely economically challenging time for families in Texas," commented Mark Nerio.  "Citi is focused on helping develop real, sustainable solutions to help families stay in their homes."

"We are excited to partner with Citi to help struggling homeowners in Texas," said Mr. Jones.  "This grant from the Citi Foundation will allow us to create and distribute packets of information to inform borrowers of foreclosure scam warning signs, alert them to common predatory tactics currently in use, teach them how to report scams they encounter and connect them with free, certified counseling resources."

Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries.  Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.  Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving on its priority focus areas: Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, Education, and Financial Education and Asset Building. In the United States and Canada, the Citi Foundation also supports Community Development programs. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, and Community Development to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.

Citi Community Development

Citi Community Development (CCD) is leading Citi's commitment to achieve economic empowerment and growth for underserved individuals, families and communities by expanding access to financial products and services, and building sustainable business solutions and innovative partnerships.  Our focus areas include:  commercial and philanthropic funding; innovative financial products and services; and collaborations with institutions that expand access to financial products and services for low-income and underserved communities. For more information, please visit www.citigroup.com/community.

Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation

Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) is a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the housing needs of low, very low and extremely low-income Texans and other underserved populations who do not have comparable housing options through conventional financial channels. We do this by developing and administrating innovative housing programs and leveraging strategic partnerships with nonprofits, the private sector and public entities. For more information please log-on to www.tsahc.org.

CONTACT: Janie Taylor, +1-512-477-3563, [email protected]

SOURCE Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation