Self-Help Ventures Fund Becomes the First Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Loan Fund Member of Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

ATLANTA, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) today announced that Self-Help Ventures Fund, a financing affiliate of the Center for Community Self-Help, has become the Bank's first Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) loan fund member, and the first CDFI-affiliated organization to join a Federal Home Loan Bank.

In January 2010, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) implemented provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) that permitted qualifying CDFIs to become members of a Federal Home Loan Bank. CDFIs are private nonprofit and for-profit financial institutions that provide financial services to advance economic development and community revitalization in underserved markets. Since January, FHLBank Atlanta has worked closely with Self-Help's leadership to bring them through the membership process.

"FHLBank Atlanta is pleased to welcome Self-Help Ventures Fund as a new member under the recently-implemented provisions of HERA," said Jill Spencer, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, FHLBank Atlanta. "This is an important milestone for FHLBank Atlanta and the FHLBanks, and will allow us to broaden our community and economic development support efforts."

The nonprofit Center for Community Self-Help and its financing affiliates Self-Help Credit Union, Self-Help Federal Credit Union, and Self-Help Ventures Fund provide financing, technical support, consumer financial services, and advocacy for economically disadvantaged individuals. The Center for Community Self-Help is based in Durham, N.C. and has additional offices in California and Washington, D.C.

"It is an honor for Self-Help Ventures Fund to become the first CDFI loan fund member of the Federal Home Loan Bank System," said Martin D. Eakes, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Community Self-Help. "We have worked for more than ten years to make this partnership possible, and together with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, we believe we can provide the financing that will enable thousands of well-qualified homeowners to buy their first homes."

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help 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.

SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta