CULVER CITY, CA - Century Housing, a leading Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), announced that it closed a $100 million syndicated credit facility with Chase as agent and lead lender, and Charles Schwab Bank, Wells Fargo, BBVA Compass, HSBC Bank USA, and U.S. Bank as lenders. This is one of the largest revolving credit facilities to a CDFI in the country. The bank facility will be leveraged by Century to finance homes affordable to low-and moderate-income families, veterans, and disabled individuals throughout the state.
To date, Century Housing has provided more than $1 billion in financing which has supported the development of more than 25,000 affordable homes over its 20 year history. According to Affordable Housing Finance, Century Housing was among the Top 25 affordable housing lenders in 2014 and the only CDFI to make the list.
"The affordability of housing is a major and increasing challenge in our State. Los Angeles now ranks as the least affordable rental market nationally; of the 10 metropolitan areas experiencing the fastest growth in effective multifamily rental rates, five are in California. While Century Housing has made significant contributions toward this housing crisis to-date, the need for quality affordable housing continues to outstrip supply. Simply put, housing needs more investment. Facilities like this are part of the solution," said Mr. Alan Hoffman, CFO and SVP of Century Housing.
Across the country, CDFIs assist thousands of disadvantaged families to own, rent, and keep quality affordable homes, help fund community developments, as well as to start and grow burgeoning businesses. "Based on our recent run rate, we can expect this facility to finance more than 1,000 homes and create more than 1,050 jobs every year," added Mr. Hoffman.
"Transforming underserved communities requires partnership and commitment," said Sean Birney, Vice President, Chase Community Development Banking. "Chase is proud to collaborate with a leading CDFI like Century Housing and with this bank group on a $100 million credit facility, in order to help develop and preserve affordable housing throughout California."
Century Housing is a CDFI lender delivering innovative financial products quickly and reliably to support the development of critical housing projects in underserved communities throughout California. In 2014 alone, Century Housing financed 32 developments with investments ranging from $400,000 to $27,000,000 which benefited 1,782 households and contributed to the creation of more than 1,800 full-time jobs.