Chase commits $500 billion in home
financing by
end of decade to minority and underserved markets
Commitment is largest ever made by any lender for single-family home financing to these segments
New York, NY, January 30, 2003 - Chase Home Finance, the mortgage
division of JPMorgan Chase Bank, announced at a press conference
today the Chase DreaMaker™ ( Dream Maker) Commitment -- an unprecedented
$500 billion commitment through 2010, providing increased home financing
to minority borrowers across the full economic spectrum, low-to-moderate
income borrowers and new immigrant families nationwide.
As the largest commitment of its kind ever made by a lending institution,
the Chase Dream Maker Commitment answers President Bush's call to
the mortgage industry to make homeownership accessible to all members
of our society. The funds will go toward single family home financing
for home purchases, refinances or home equity loans and lines of
credit.
"Chase has an ongoing, serious commitment to meeting the home
financing needs of traditionally underserved borrowers. To raise
the bar, we are answering President Bush's call and making it our
mission to help close the homeownership gap in America," said
Stephen J. Rotella, chief executive officer of Chase Home Finance.
"By the end of this decade we expect to help millions of families
from underserved segments with the American dream of homeownership.
This is not our first step, but it's our biggest step."
"The Bush Administration is committed to adding at least 5.5
million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade because
of the tremendous value that homeownership has for families, communities
and the nation as a whole," said HUD Secretary Mel Martinez.
"We applaud JPMorgan Chase for sharing in this commitment and
for pledging to help bridge the homeownership gap. We look forward
to a successful partnership with them."
Recognizing that making the dream of homeownership a reality requires
more than just a financial commitment, Chase has laid the foundation
with an increasingly diverse sales and support staff, mortgage offices,
strategic partners as well as education and outreach programs to
ensure the program's success. For example:
Increase Sales Staff:
· Chase has more than doubled its sales force over the first
two years of this initiative with an emphasis on diversity. We plan
to continue to increase our sales force as we grow this business.
Open New Retail Offices:
· Chase plans to increase its presence on a national basis
by opening additional mortgage offices in key markets such as, New
York, California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Washington
D.C.
Offer Flexible Solutions:
· Chase has developed products, services and programs to
meet the specific needs of minority and underserved borrowers across
the full economic spectrum, such as products with: simplified documentation,
substantial down payments with limited credit history, consideration
of both verified and stated income, low or no closing costs and
low or no down payments.
Chase National Housing Advisory Council
· To give the initiative immediate traction nationwide, Chase
has created a National Housing Advisory Council, comprised of influential
leaders representing underserved segments, including African American,
Asian, Hispanic and Gay and Lesbian communities. The purpose of
this Council is to provide guidance that will assist Chase Home
Finance identify issues, brainstorm solutions and support the work
of our strategic alliances.
The National Housing Advisory Council members are:
· Asian Americans for Equality, Chris Kui, President
· Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Weldon J. Rougeau,
President
· Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Ingrid Duran,
Executive Director
· Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Milton Rosado,
President
· National Association of Realtors, Bruce Downs, Chairman
of the Diversity Council
· National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Ed London,
President & CEO
· National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals,
Gary Acosta, CEO
· National Council of La Raza, Raul Yzaguirre, President
& CEO
· National Urban League, Hugh Price, President
· Human Rights Campaign, Kim Mills, Education Director
· Union Privilege AFL-CIO, Leslie Tolf, President
Increase Focus on Strategic Alliances:
· Chase has established strong partnerships with Fannie Mae
and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation as well as other housing
finance partners such as Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, FHA, VA, Rural
Housing Service and the Federal Home Loan Bank. For example, Chase
partnered with the Congressional Black Caucus at the inception of
its With Ownership, Wealth (WOW) initiative, which strives to create
a million new African American homeowners by the end of 2005.
· Chase is also expanding existing relationships with other
strategic alliances with member-based organizations, such as AFL-CIO,
100 Black Men of Atlanta, National Council of La Raza and National
Urban League. For example, Chase will build upon its six-year, exclusive
relationship with the Union Plus Mortgage Program of Union Privilege,
the benefit arm of the AFL-CIO. To date, this partnership has provided
nearly $2 billion in mortgages to union members through special
products.
Level the Field with Financial Literacy:
· Chase will help to level the playing field for borrowers
by increasing partnership programs with educational and counseling
providers to help borrowers understand and select the best options
available to them. Examples include:
National Affordable Housing Seminars. Chase has partnered with many
community-based organizations to provide homeownership counseling
in more than 30 cities located in 15 states and the District of
Columbia. These organizations include ACORN, the National Urban
League and the National Council of LaRaza.
Early Intervention Prevention Program: The Early Prevention Program
helps borrowers who fall behind in their payments stay in their
homes by developing payment solutions.
Protection from Predatory Lending: Chase provides this protection
through several vehicles, such as educational articles in ethnic
and general market publications, the Chase website and one-on-one
counseling sessions with our educational partners.
In-Language Capabilities: Chase also provides in-language-marketing
materials to ensure that individuals can fully understand the home
buying process in the language with which they are most comfortable.
We have ensured that we have multi-lingual capabilities at our origination
and servicing centers.
Establish a Nationwide Referral System:
· Chase is also developing a nationwide system to identify
and refer applicants who are not yet mortgage-ready to housing and
credit counseling agencies.
For more information about how to qualify for home financing, please
visit any Chase office, log on to the website at www.chase.com or
call 1-800-678-1051.
The Chase Home Finance business is headquartered in Edison, New
Jersey. It is one of the largest residential mortgage lenders and
employs nearly 14,000 people in major servicing and operations sites
and has more than 300 offices across the country.
Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation is the mortgage subsidiary
of JPMorgan Chase Bank, a division of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co
(NYSE: JPM). JPMorgan Chase is a leading global financial services
firm with assets of $759 billion and operations in more than 50
countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, asset management,
private banking, private equity, custody and transaction services,
and retail and middle market financial services. A component of
the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase is headquartered
in New York and serves more than 30 million consumer customers and
the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government
clients.