Bank One, Fannie Join Forces in Chicago

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has announced a $12.5 million community lending alliance between Bank One and Fannie Mae that will provide affordable mortgage financing for low- to moderate-income minority, disabled, immigrant, and woman-headed households in the Chicago area.Fannie Mae will purchase eligible loans on single-family and multifamily homes or other financing to be used in community development initiatives such as inner-city rehabilitation projects. To facilitate the process, Bank One will offer a series of products that require little or no downpayment funds, eliminate mortgage insurance costs, and apply flexible credit quality ratings. The bank pledged to earmark about 25% of the $12.5 million fund to minority families. In addition, the bank will cooperate with Fannie Mae to develop new downpayment assistance strategies and actively engage in homeownership education efforts through nonprofit counseling organizations, initially in Chicago, and later in Detroit, Phoenix, and other markets. The companies can be found on the Web at http://www.bankone.com and http://www.fanniemae.com.