Banker & Tradesman file photo
Eastern Bank has agreed to increase its participation in the ONE Mortgage affordable homeownership lending program over a five-year period, doubling its annual loan production.
The Boston-based Eastern Bank has committed to funding 500 ONE Mortgage loans over a five-year period, with a goal of at least 100 ONE Mortgage loans each year, the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance said in a statement. This goal would mean that Eastern would double the combined number of loans Eastern Bank and Century Bank originated annually before their November merger.
Offered by participating Massachusetts banks and credit unions, the ONE Mortgage program was developed in 1990 by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Bankers Association, MAHA, the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts.
“Eastern recognizes the importance of taking specific steps to close the state’s racial homeownership gap and is committed to helping all of us do more if we are going to make progress in narrowing the racial homeownership gap,” Symone Crawford, MAHA’s executive director, said in the statement. “We applaud Bob Rivers, Quincy Miller, John Brodrick and the entire team at Eastern for their outstanding leadership in helping to ensure safe and affordable housing becomes a reality for many more homeowners in the Commonwealth.”
MAHA said it has reached 23,600 low- and moderate-income homebuyers through the program, with 60 percent of those homebuyers people of color. Eastern has been a long-time participant in the program, MAHA said.
“Homeownership is one of the most effective means to help families and individuals build long-term wealth and we are focused on doing our part to help make this a reality for people across Massachusetts,” Bob Rivers, CEO and chair of Eastern Bankshares Inc. and Eastern Bank. “We thank the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance for making a real difference in our communities.”
The program breaks down barriers that prevent creditworthy families from buying a home, including inadequate consumer education, high interest rates and fees, excessive down payment requirements, compulsory mortgage insurance, and a bias against two- and three-family properties, the statement said.
“There is no other bank-financed mortgage program in the country that has achieved comparable community impact or loan performance, much less at this scale or over this long a period of time,” MHP’s executive director Clark Ziegler said in the statement.
Boston City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune praised Eastern Bank for its role in addressing the racial homeownership wealth gap.
“We need more banks to step up, participate in these programs, and match Eastern Bank’s commitment to correcting the deep historical barriers in lending that have stymied wealth-building in marginalized communities, especially Black and Latinx communities,” Louijeune said in the statement.
