NAHB Backs MPF Expansion

The National Association of Home Builders has given its "strong support" to the plan by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago to add a shared funding enhancement to its highly successful Mortgage Partnership Finance program.But it isn't the blanket endorsement supporters of the program had been seeking. The NAHB had been asked by the FHLBanks of Chicago and Pittsburgh, as well as Wells Fargo, to sign a joint letter to the Federal Housing Finance Board supporting the shared funding program. But the association's leadership decided that while it liked the idea and would have no problem voicing support, it would be better to send its own letter so it could "better voice" its own interest in expanding the MPF beyond just single-family mortgages. The NAHB would like to see the MPF and the SFP programs used to facilitate the development of additional FHLBank programs, including multifamily mortgages and housing production loans, NAHB President Gary Garczynski wrote in a letter to Finance Board Chairman John Korsmo. The NAHB can be found online at http://www.nahb.com.