|
Wachovia Grants $2 Million To Neighborhood Housing Services of America
By James Comtois
The Wachovia Foundation has recently given Neighborhood Housing Services of America a $2 million grant to provide support for Just Price Solutions, NHSA's e-commerce platform.
JPS, which helps individuals qualify for prime loans by establishing their credit history through nontraditional means, features a digital channel that includes customized automated underwriting engines attached to third party services for loan fulfillment, with the ability to take single-family loans from intake through closing electronically. Affordable loan products designed for the community development field back the platform.
NHSA, a national nonprofit secondary market that has been working since 1974 to revitalize neighborhoods and strengthen communities across America, collaborates with private sector institutional investors, philanthropic organizations, governmental entities and NeighborWorks America to improve mortgage industry products and services for community initiatives.
NHSA has been a lending resource to the NeighborWorks network of more than 240 local nonprofits in partnership with NeighborWorks America. JPS was created in 2006 to operate NHSA's e-commerce platform.
According to Mary Lee Widener, president and CEO of NHSA, this grant from Wachovia will help NHSA push forward its JPS initiative "to help nonprofits and mission-oriented lenders fight predatory lending and inappropriate subprime lending.
"We are pleased that NID-HCA will be the first nonprofit network to benefit from this grant, joining the NeighborWorks Network, HomeFree USA Network, and others across the nation in use of our e-commerce platform for affordable services to borrowers with nontraditional credit histories."
Wachovia's grant is part of its $150 billion, ten-year community plan for California. The company announced the community plan in August 2006 as part of its merger with Golden West Financial (parent company of World Savings). The plan was developed with extensive community input. Wachovia talked with representatives from more than 100 California community groups to learn about community needs in the state.
"At Wachovia, we're committed to helping families achieve the dream of homeownership. We know that it strengthens neighborhoods and is the best way to help families build wealth," said Pete Jones, head of Wachovia's Western Banking Group. "We're proud to expand Wachovia's partnership with NHSA, building on World Savings' longstanding support for this important organization."
Across its markets in 2006, Wachovia provided $30 billion in community loans and investments to revitalize neighborhoods; contributed nearly $118 million to charitable organizations through company and foundation giving; invested nearly $210 million in equity to create more than 1,700 affordable rental-housing units; helped an average of 429 low- and moderate-income families and families in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods buy a home each week; and launched "Extra Credit," a financial literacy lesson designed to teach advanced credit topics such as credit scores, debt management and credit repair.
In supporting the NHSA JPS national initiative, Wachovia is joining with State Farm Insurance Cos., First American Corp. and Fannie Mae in bringing technological resources to the nonprofit sector in support of affordable credit opportunities for nontraditional credit borrowers.
More emerging market news
| 
