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For Immediate Release: CBC Mortgage Agency Hails Cedar Band of Paiute Indians’ Letter to White House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 4, 2020
CONTACT:
Jamie Morris (530) 545-9274
CBC Mortgage Agency Hails Cedar Band of Paiute Indians’
Letter to White House
Cedar Band’s Chairwoman Implores President Trump to Halt Damaging HUD Restriction on Governmental Entities Providing Down Payment Assistance
CEDAR CITY, Utah – CBC Mortgage Agency today applauded a letter (attached) sent to President Trump and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Carson, calling on the administration to “Carefully consider the long-term ramifications” of its potential rule to limit the scope of governmental entity down payment assistance providers. The letter further calls on HUD to “Consult with the communities that rely on down payment assistance programs provided by federally chartered government entities…before proceeding with a rulemaking.”
The letter, penned by Delice Tom, Chairwoman of the Cedar Band of Paiutes, which owns the federally chartered tribal corporation, Cedar Band Corporation (CBC), and CBC’s subsidiary, CBC Mortgage Agency, which provides the Chenoa Fund down payment assistance program, responds to HUD’s announced plans for a proposed rulemaking that would have a devastating impact on the Cedar Band, other tribal nations and the millions of minority borrowers.
“If HUD were to implement its rule to severely restrict the availability of governmental entities providing DPA to borrowers within a specific geographic area, it would cause a devastating impact not only to the Cedar Band’s source of revenue, it would also exclude minorities and low-to-moderate income borrowers who rely heavily on governmental DPA programs like the Chenoa Fund,” said Richard Ferguson, President of CBC Mortgage Agency.
Chairwoman Tom highlighted the importance of the availability of governmental down payment assistance programs, including the Chenoa Fund, to minorities and low- to-moderate income homebuyers who lack the intergenerational wealth to rely on for down payment assistance, exacerbating the racial wealth and homeownership gap in the U.S.
“In the first quarter of 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the country’s overall homeownership rate was 65.3 percent. Among white households, the homeownership rate is 73.7 percent. However, the black homeownership rate is only 44 percent, hovering near 50-year lows,” the letter continued.
In 2019, over 55 percent of CBC Mortgage Agency’s borrowers were minorities. Nearly 35 percent of those borrowers were the first generation in their family to ever own a home.
“We strongly support Chairwoman Tom and other efforts by the Cedar Band to defend the availability of affordable DPA programs across the country to potential homebuyers seeking the American Dream of homeownership, which is at serious risk if HUD has its way,” concluded Ferguson.
About CBC Mortgage Agency
CBCMA provides secondary financing to borrowers, who are receiving loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). CBCMA takes great care to ensure that the FHA loans perform well, including providing education as well as 18 months of counseling to borrowers after the purchase of their home. In addition, CBCMA regularly reviews its credit standards to ensure that the borrowers it assists are credit worthy.
CBCMA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cedar Band Corporation, a federally chartered tribal corporation wholly owned by the Cedar Band of Paiutes, a federally recognized American Indian band. For more information about CBCMA and its programs, visit chenoafund.org.

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