Puerto Rico Bankers Association announces available housing grant funds
The Puerto Rico Bankers Association recently announced that orientation and training has been offered by its member bank, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY), aimed at offering information about the grant funds available for the island through its different housing subsidy programs.
Among those who participated in the training were staff from the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, commercial banks, insurers, developers and nonprofit organizations.
More specifically, during the training, the bank’s Affordable Housing Program and Homebuyer Dream Program were discussed.
This year, the bank has made $38 million in grants available to its members through the Affordable Housing Program to help fund housing acquisition, construction or rehabilitation projects; rental housing and owner-occupied housing, with caps of up to $40,000 per unit or $1.5 million per project.
The bank has also made available to members an additional $10 million in grants through the Homebuyer Dream Program, to help low-to-moderate income first-time homebuyers with up to $10,000 for down payments and closing cost expenses.
“At the [Puerto Rico Bankers Association] we are honored to have the presence of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York in Puerto Rico, acting on its commitment to contribute to the island’s well-being and socioeconomic development through programs for low-to-moderate income sectors at key times where affordable housing and its availability is in a precarious state,” said Zoimé Álvarez Rubio, executive vice president of the Bankers Association.
Álvarez further noted that the bank’s “initiative serves to train its members on the different available programs so that they maximize these funds for citizens on the island to use and we can see better participation compared to previous years.”
For his part, Alexis Sornoza, the New York bank’s vice president of Member Relations, said that the institution’s mission is to provide its “members with reliable liquidity in support of housing and local community development. Our housing grant programs are funded by the proceeds of this liquidity mission, and are aligned with our focus on supporting and strengthening the communities we serve.”
Sornoza, who is also the bank’s senior business development officer, added: “Our housing grant programs are funded by the proceeds of this liquidity mission, and are aligned with our focus on supporting and strengthening the communities we serve. For the FHLBNY, it is important to resume this type of initiative in Puerto Rico to provide updates to our members on our management in the Caribbean region and on the island, and to train them about the available funds through our various affordable housing programs and related application processes. The participation of our members is key to getting these funds to the population.”
In addition to the available housing programs, the bank has community loan programs such as the Community Investment Program; Rural Development Advance & Urban Development Advance; Business Development Advance; and Disaster Relief Fund.
In Puerto Rico, the bank has a network of members that includes commercial banks, insurance companies and federal credit unions.
For more information on the various housing programs available at the bank, visit www.fhlbny.com/community.
