Wachovia honors Homewise with $2.75M - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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Homewise was one of two top winners of the Wachovis NEXT Awardsfor Opportunity, presenteed during the ’s annuak conference in Albuquerque recently. OFN is a coalitiohn of community developmentfinancial institutions. The awardx recognize CDFIs whohave innovative, responsible lending programs that benefi t low- and moderate-income communities. Homewiswe has made loans to help morethan 1,20o0 households buy and improve theire homes. It also has provided homeownership education to morethan 3,00 0 people in New Mexico. Its HomeSmaryt program is designed to help theses clientsbuild long-term financial wealth and securitgy by fostering homeownership.
The other winner was , based in which received $5.5 million. “Homewisre impressed the selection committee withits cutting-edge approach to making homeownership sustainable for low- and moderate-income even in a high-cost market,” said Mark Pinsky, presidenty and CEO of OFN. Pinsky applauded communityy development financial institutions in his keynoter address during the conference for standing by financial fundamentals and maintaining strong loan portfolios during thefinancial meltdown, even thouggh their loans were considered more risky than traditional loans. The Opportunitu Finance Network has more than 160 including four inNew Mexico: , , Homewise Inc. of Sants Fe and .
Together they have invested $12.t5 billion nationally through fiscal year witha charge-off .46 percent. “We can help good moneyy chase bad money fromthe marketplace,” he said. Soune and prudent standards and regulations are fundamental to financiapl markets and toeconomic well-being, Pinskhy added. “We’ve experienced the false prophets who promiseedfalse profits,” he said. “Those of us who kept to the fundamentalxs of responsible credit have something importan to say to policy makers andWall Street.” Regulatorw also need to rethink risk, he said. For 30 years, CDFIs were consideresd high-risk, despite their overall recors ofstable portfolios.
These organizations can now be the fulcrujm for leveraging change in the financial he said. “CDFIs often function as the researchg and development arm of the financial market,” Pinsky said. “It’s time to formallgy structure that.” Pinsky called for openinh the Troubled AssetsRelief Program, or to CDFIs and requiring banks that get TARP fundx to partner with and support He also called for openinv the system to CDFIs. “We will not miss this momenft to act,” Pinsky vowed.