Dealmaker: FHLBank San Francisco Invests $53M to Preserve San Francisco Affordable Housing

(Illustration courtesy of Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco)

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco invested $52.6 million in a Fannie Mae bond issuance that will support the continuing affordability of 230 housing units for very low-income residents living near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

Joe Amato, interim president and CEO of FHLBank San Francisco, noted FHLBanks have authority to make prudent investments in mission-consistent securities. “This investment aligns with our mission to be a reliable supplier of low-cost liquidity to our member financial institutions and deliver resources that supports affordable housing and community investment in our region,” he said. “Consistent with our obligation to our mission, we will continue to seek opportunities to invest in the creation, development, and purchase of affordable housing in the communities our members serve.”

The National Low Income Housing Coalition calculated a deficit of nearly 170,000 affordable rental homes available for households earning 50% or below the area median income in the San Francisco metro area.

“Preserving existing affordable housing has to be a critical component of any strategy to address the Bay Area’s current housing crisis,” said Ben Metcalf, managing director at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. “However, the scale of the problem is such that we simply can’t get there unless institutional capital providers step up to the plate in a big way. That’s why FHLBank San Francisco’s bond purchase in San Francisco is so significant.”

This investment to maintain affordability of the homes in the Wharf Plaza I and II buildings near Fisherman’s Wharf follows a $10 million FHLBank San Francisco investment in Nevada Housing Division Mortgage Revenue Bonds earlier this year to support low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance programs.