Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Announces the Opening of Its 2010 First-time Homebuyer Program Offering

ATLANTA, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) announced today that it will make available up to $11 million as part of its 2010 First-time Homebuyer Program (FHP), which helps spur home sales and supports the housing market. FHLBank Atlanta offers the matching funds through its member financial institutions for the down payment and closing costs of eligible first-time homebuyers in the Bank's district, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

By participating in FHP, FHLBank Atlanta members can access up to $1 million annually and distribute matching FHP awards of up to $7,500 per household to eligible homebuyers. The availability of FHP funds helps FHLBank Atlanta member institutions expand their customer base, originate new mortgages, and attract potential homebuyers. The FHP offering cycle opens April 19, 2010, and continues through Dec. 31, 2010 or until all available funds are disbursed, whichever occurs first. Funds are provided to member institutions on a first-come, first-served basis, and applicants must request the funds from a participating member institution.  

Since the FHP's inception in 1997, FHLBank Atlanta has contributed nearly $60 million to first-time homebuyers, directly resulting in almost 10,000 families and individuals being able to purchase a home. FHLBank Atlanta estimates that for every $1 of FHP funding awarded, up to $14 is generated in new mortgage business for its members.

"The First-time Homebuyer Program serves as a very attractive incentive to potential home owners, and it stimulates home purchases that are critically important in the current market," said Arthur Fleming, senior vice president and director of Community Investment Services, FHLBank Atlanta. "FHP funds allow our member institutions to contribute to the economic growth of their individual communities by helping qualified individuals and families become first-time homeowners."

Individual participants receiving FHP funds must complete a homebuyer counseling program that includes educational training on the home-buying process including courses on budgeting, mortgage financing, lending laws, and home ownership fundamentals.

FHLBank Atlanta also announced that the 2010 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) application round will open July 6, 2010 and continue until the application deadline of Aug. 5, 2010. Since its inception in 1990, FHLBank Atlanta's AHP has provided more than $380 million of funding to help build more than 60,000 units of rental and homeownership affordable housing. FHLBank Atlanta's affordable housing funds are a significant driver of job growth, housing production, and expanded tax bases, according to a research study recently completed by The Hendrickson Company and The Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida.  

About FHLBank Atlanta

FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help approximately 1,200 member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank's members—its shareholders and customers—are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, and insurance companies headquartered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 12 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System which since 1990 has contributed more than $3.6 billion to the Affordable Housing Program.

For more information, visit http://www.fhlbatl.com

SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta