National Fair Housing Alliance Issues Statement Lauding the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco on Selecting Alanna McCargo to Lead the Agency
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2024
Contact: Janelle Brevard | jbrevard@nationalfairhousing.org
Washington, D.C. — The National Fair Housing Alliance® (NFHA™) applauds the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s (the Bank) announcement that Alanna McCargo will become the Bank’s next president and chief executive officer.
Ms. McCargo is a noted and well-regarded financial services expert and leader having most recently served as the Government National Mortgage Association’s (Ginnie Mae) president. She was the first woman and woman of color to hold the position. She also served as a senior advisor on housing and finance policy to former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. Throughout her impressive career, Ms. McCargo has pioneered and championed policies and programs to advance fair housing and fair lending principles including leading groundbreaking research, while at the Urban Institute, on solutions for expanding access to credit for underserved groups, broadening support for small dollar mortgages, and dismantling barriers to the provisioning of fair and affordable housing.
Ms. McCargo takes the helm of the Bank on the heels of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) examination of almost 100 years of operation for the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) System writ large. FHFA’s report provided a comprehensive review of the nation’s FHLBanks and a discussion of how the system can best fulfill its mission of 1) providing stable and reliable liquidity to member institutions; and 2) supporting housing and community development. The report lifts up a number of recommendations for reforming the FHLBank System, including proposals championed by NFHA. Importantly, FHFA recommended the Federal Home Loan Banks deepen and expand mission-oriented programs to support sustainable housing finance and community development products that lack a reliable secondary market outlet. FHFA also supported increasing the 10 percent minimum contribution requirement for the FHLBanks’ Affordable Housing Programs. While the current statute establishes the 10 percent minimum contribution, FHLBanks are able to voluntarily increase their contributions.
The FHLBanks are an important and integral component of the U.S. housing finance market. They play a significant role in helping address America’s fair and affordable housing crisis. NFHA looks forward to continued work with the San Francisco FHLBank as well as other Banks in the FHLBank system to more broadly expand access to sustainable credit to underserved groups.
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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. Through its homeownership, credit access, tech equity, education, member services, public policy, community development, and enforcement initiatives, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.