Articles from Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) is pleased to announce the appointment of Fern Orie, CEO of the Wisconsin Indigenous Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WIHEDC), to its Community Investment Advisory Council (Advisory Council) for a three-year term. Orie brings decades of experience in housing and community development, focusing on advancing homeownership and economic opportunities for Native communities. A member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Orie served as Executive Director of the Oneida Housing Authority and later founded and led the Wisconsin Native Loan Fund (WINLF), a statewide Native Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) and FHLBank Chicago member. She is now the CEO of WIHEDC, supporting Native CDFIs across Wisconsin and co-leading the Wisconsin Native Homeownership Coalition, a statewide effort to advance Native homeownership. Orie also serves on the Board of Directors of Bay Bank, a Native-owned financial institution and FHLBank Chicago member, established by the Oneida Nation.

In recognition of Small Business Saturday on November 30, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today announced it has invested over $27 million through its Community First® Accelerate Grants (Accelerate Grants) for Small Business and its Community Small Business Advance throughout 2024. Through these programs, FHLBank Chicago supported more than 700 small businesses throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) announced it has awarded over $47 million through its 2024 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) General Fund round to help finance 35 housing projects located primarily in Illinois and Wisconsin. This funding will enable the acquisition, rehabilitation and new construction of over 1,300 housing units.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today announced its preliminary and unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2024.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) is pleased to announce the results of its 2024 Director Election. Members elected two directors from Illinois, one director from Wisconsin, one independent director and one public interest independent director. Each director will serve a four-year term beginning January 1, 2025.

To grow the diverse real estate developer talent pipeline in Illinois and Wisconsin, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) has awarded over $3 million through its 2024 Community First® Diverse Developer Initiative to support 62 fellowships and internships across 14 organizations. This funding brings FHLBank Chicago’s overall commitment for the three-year program to $6.4 million to support new talent in affordable housing who provide essential community knowledge and valued perspectives.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today convened a discussion around the barriers, challenges, and solutions to housing needs in Illinois and Chicagoland—bringing together key leaders in the space like U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06), IFF, and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA). Hosted at the Union Avenue Apartments in Orland Park, Ill., which provides affordable housing to people with developmental disabilities, the event also included a check presentation of $2 million to IDHA from FHLBank Chicago’s Community First® Housing Counseling Resource Program (HCRP) to help support housing counseling for first-time homebuyers.

In support of its mission to provide liquidity to members and support affordable housing and community development, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) is proud to announce an increase of $1.5 million for its Community First® Housing Counseling Resource Program (HCRP) for the current program year. In 2024, a total of $3.5 million has been allocated to the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), bringing the total funding for this vital program to $7.5 million over the past three years. FHLBank Chicago continues to support housing agencies that guide customers through financial literacy and pre-purchase counseling, to empower individuals with the knowledge and resources needed to achieve sustainable homeownership across Illinois and Wisconsin.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) is announcing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Collateral Pilot Program, which provides members with increased lendable value on their pledged collateral for up to $300 million of qualifying mortgage loans on LIHTC multi-family housing projects. Through member banks, credit unions, insurance companies, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and eligible housing associates, the program will amplify and incentivize lending in support of affordable housing for low-income individuals and families.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today opened its application for the 2024 Community First® Diverse Developer Initiative (Diverse Developer Initiative). Now in its third year, the initiative provides nonprofit and for-profit organizations grants to help Illinois and Wisconsin emerging developers gain access to career development opportunities to advance affordable housing.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today announced its preliminary and unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2024. As of the second quarter, FHLBank Chicago increased its commitment to over $180 million for affordable housing and community development initiatives for 2024.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) is providing $50 million in interest rate subsidies to help expand affordable housing, economic development, and community partnerships in Illinois and Wisconsin through its new Community Impact Advance Pilot Program. This Program provides an up to two percent reduction in interest rates on advances, which are secured loans, to help FHLBank Chicago member financial institutions support their customers and amplify the impact they are making in their communities.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) and VantageScore announced today that member financial institutions can now pledge mortgage collateral using VantageScore credit scores as an alternative to the classic FICO credit score model. By considering rental payments and other consumer credit data in its scoring algorithms that are not included in traditional scoring models, VantageScore provides an innovative solution aimed at expanding access to support sustainable homeownership.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) released its 2023 Impact Report: Investing in Opportunities today, providing a comprehensive look at the Bank’s support for its financial institution members and their communities across Illinois and Wisconsin throughout last year.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today announced its preliminary and unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2024. As of the first quarter, FHLBank Chicago has committed over $110 million to affordable housing and community development initiatives for 2024.

To further support housing affordability, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) is increasing the maximum per member limit available for its Downpayment Plus® (DPP®) and Downpayment Plus Advantage® (DPP Advantage®) grant programs to $1 million per member. FHLBank Chicago’s 2024 DPP programs budget is more than $39 million and the new per member limit represents a nearly 43% increase over the 2023 limit of $700,000. Member banks, credit unions and community development financial institutions use the DPP programs to provide year-round down payment grant assistance to qualified home buyers in Illinois and Wisconsin.

During the height of the holiday season, and directly following Small Business Saturday, 172 businesses in Illinois and Wisconsin learned that they would receive a $25,000 grant to support their business. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) awarded $4.3 million in total grants to deserving businesses to provide economic and community development throughout Illinois and Wisconsin – more than quadrupling their investment in Community First Accelerate Grants for Small Business (Accelerate Grants) year over year.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today announced that it has awarded more than $33 million to help finance 44 housing projects and developments across Illinois and Wisconsin through its Affordable Housing Program (AHP) General Fund. These grant funds will support the acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction of over 1,900 housing units, and are provided to FHLBank Chicago’s financial institution members in partnership with organizations like Movin’ Out in Madison, WI, and The Interfaith Housing Development Corporation in Chicago.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) is pleased to announce the results of its 2023 Director Election. Members elected one director from Illinois, one director from Wisconsin, and three independent directors who ran unopposed. Each director will serve a four-year term beginning January 1, 2024.

Diverse real estate developers bring unique perspectives and community knowledge to their projects—making them invaluable to the mission of building equitable, affordable housing. To grow the diverse developer talent pipeline in Illinois and Wisconsin, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) doubled its annual support to $2 million in the second year of its Community First® Diverse Developer Initiative (Diverse Developer Initiative), bringing the total three-year commitment to $4 million. After the first round of funding, the program narrowed its focus to career development and will fund up to 35 fellowships and internships for 10 beneficiary organizations.

Small businesses are engines of economic growth in local communities and are facing challenges with growing or enhancing their operations due to surging borrowing costs in a high-interest rate environment. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) responds with a two-pronged approach, announcing expanded discounted lending and grants:

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) has released its first-ever Impact Report, highlighting results throughout 2022 that showcase innovation, adaptability, and resilience in service of FHLBank Chicago’s statutory mission to provide liquidity to members and support housing and community development. The report comes at a key moment in the FHLBank System’s 90-year history, as FHLBank Chicago reflects on its role in Illinois and Wisconsin and considers how to evolve to better serve the needs of its employees, members and their communities.