Four FHLB Dallas Affordable Housing Programs that Banks Can Use to Comply with the Community Reinvestment Act

Did you know that the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) has several community investment programs that can help depository institutions comply with the CRA?

With last fall’s modernization of the Community Reinvestment Act by banking regulatory agencies, it’s a good time to highlight how our programs can assist financial institutions with CRA compliance.

The CRA, a backbone of banking regulation for nearly 50 years, addresses inequities in access to credit and encourages federally insured banks to serve low- and moderate-income communities.

FHLB Dallas can help our members looking for opportunities to meet CRA requirements. And we’ve got some great news: We’ve increased affordable housing and community investment funding for several of our programs this year. As a member-owned cooperative and wholesale bank, we offer our community programs through our member institutions.

Here’s a quick overview of four FHLB Dallas programs that can help banks comply with the CRA:

1. The Affordable Housing Program (AHP): We will allocate more than $79 million this year to finance the purchase, construction and/or rehabilitation of owner-occupied, rental, transitional or housing for the homeless. This year, up to $2 million per project is available — up from $850,000 in 2023. Housing organizations, developers and others must apply through an FHLB Dallas member. We are holding several workshops to explain how to qualify and apply. Learn more about AHP.
2. Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP): We’ve allocated $15.5 million to HELP in 2024, up significantly from $6.5 million allocated in 2023. HELP provides subsidies for down payment and closing cost assistance for eligible first-time homebuyers. With the rising cost of housing, we are pleased to announce that individual homebuyers can receive up to $20,000 through HELP in 2024, up from $15,000 last year. Learn more about HELP.
3. Disaster Rebuilding Assistance (DRA): Our members have used the DRA to rebuild and repair homes from the devastating effects of hurricanes and tornadoes. We’ve increased funding this year to $2.5 million, up from $2 million in 2023 and will have two funding rounds. Learn more about DRA.
4. Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP): SNAP provides subsidies for the repair and rehabilitation of eligible, special-needs individuals who own homes. Often these individuals are the elderly who need critical safety repairs to their homes such as a new roof, plumbing, air conditioning or a wheelchair ramp. We made $2 million available this year, and will have $1 million available June 4-6.  Learn more about SNAP.

As a cooperative, member participation is critical to our affordable housing initiatives. Members are true partners in getting the word out about our programs. If you are an FHLB Dallas member and you haven’t taken advantage of this member benefit, Home Bank Senior Vice President Kelvin Luster says it best:

“Without FHLB Dallas, our CRA Department could not have assisted 75 families and 18 organizations with more than $4.4 million in affordable housing and community development funding in our Home Bank communities,” he said. “We gratefully utilized eight FHLB Dallas programs, and I can’t encourage other FHLB Dallas members enough to look into how these programs can help them, whether through CRA compliance or community empowerment that builds lasting banking relationships.”

Check out our Community Programs to learn more or give our Community Investment department a call at 800.362.2944. An affordable housing analyst is standing by to answer your questions.

Greg Hettrick is senior vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas.