Freddie Launches Chicago Initiative

Freddie Mac has announced a $75 million homeownership initiative in south suburban Chicago withthe New Cities Community Development Corp. and the Metropolitan Alliance of Congregations. The three-year commitment will be used to buy mortgages made under the New Cities Homeownership Initiativeso the participating lenders, Harris Bank and Old Kent Banks, will have a continuous supply of new mortgage funds,Freddie Mac said. Craig Nickerson, Freddie Mac's vice president for community development lending, said the announcement"underscores our conviction that faith-based organizations like the Metropolitan Alliance of Congregationsand the New Cities Community Development Corporation represent a tremendous and largely untapped resource for reachingfamilies who might otherwise be reluctant to even think about applying for a mortgage and reaching for the AmericanDream of homeownership."