U.S. Bancorp announced Monday that its lead bank, Minneapolis-based ""U.S. Bank N.A."":http://www.usbank.com, was selected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to act as administrator and closing agent for the federal government's temporary credit and liquidity program and the new issuance bond program for housing finance agencies (HFAs).
[IMAGE]In its role as closing agent, U.S. Bank provided operational support in the closing of more than 100 HFA bond issues, and as administrator, will perform various administrative and operational functions to support these ongoing programs.
The ""administration's HFA initiative"":http://www.financialstability.gov/latest/tg_10192009.html will enable state and local agencies to make affordable financing available for
[COLUMN_BREAK]an estimated 200,000 homes across the country, while generating jobs and tax revenue for the economy. According to a Treasury official, HFAs are already putting resources to work to provide low interest rate first-time homebuyer mortgages and finance rental housing.
Both the temporary credit and liquidity program and the new issuance bond program for HFAs were designed and implemented by the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to provide greatly needed financial support to local housing markets, as part of the Obama administration's overarching Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan.
""We're excited to be working with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the U.S. Treasury on this very important program designed to provide much-needed liquidity to the housing sector,"" said Bryan Calder, president of U.S. Bank Corporate Trust Services. ""This appointment demonstrates the strength of U.S. Bank, our expertise in structured finance, and our scale and experience on housing finance issues.""
Carl Riedy, VP of the public entities channel at Fannie Mae, added, ""Fannie Mae has enjoyed a long-standing partnership with U.S. Bank and is pleased they were able to deliver on such a pivotal role in the HFA Initiative. We commend the U.S. Bank team for their dedication and operational expertise.""