Fannie Mae Helps L.A. as a Lender

Re your Nov. 12 editorial, “Affordable Housing Matters,” Fannie Mae agrees--affordable housing does matter, especially for the Southland’s working families. Fannie Mae’s new $50-billion American Dream Commitment housing plan for Los Angeles and Orange counties will help thousands of low-income families obtain affordable rental housing, as well as providing mortgage financing and investment into community development.

As one of the city’s largest investors in affordable rental housing, Fannie Mae does so not through direct subsidies but as a private-sector company using financing vehicles like low-income housing tax credits. The new housing plan is a critical source of leverage for Los Angeles, to help the city preserve its scarce subsidy dollars and to serve as a catalyst for its housing trust fund. City-allocated money can be leveraged threefold from the private sector and Fannie Mae, or be used as collateral to borrow from Fannie Mae--as in San Jose, Oakland, Pasadena and Anaheim. No single solution will meet Los Angeles’ housing needs, but Fannie Mae can be among the private-sector avenues to get there.

Barbara Ziedman

Director, Fannie Mae

Partnership Office, Pasadena