Administration Gave HFAs $23.5B of Bond and Liquidity Aid

The Obama administration provided state and local housing finance agencies with a total of $23.5 billion of assistance under bond purchase and liquidity programs that have run their course, according to the Treasury Department. The new issue bond purchase program allowed the HFAs to issue $15.3 billion of bonds that were purchased by the Treasury through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Temporary Credit and Liquidity Programs provided the HFAs with $8.2 billion in liquidity, according to Treasury. The NIBP and TCLP programs were initiated in October and ran through the end of the year, with the Treasury working alongside the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to provide much-needed relief to HFAs struggling to sell housing bonds in an ailing market. "Supporting the work of state and local HFAs is critical to the administration's broader initiative to stabilize the housing market, which is helping to keep mortgage rates low and mortgage finance flowing for American households across the country," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in a prepared statement.