The leading U.S. home loan lender, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), announced a $60 billion lending commitment to create at least 250,000 African American homeowners by 2027.
The campaign is set to take place over the course of the next 10 years, and is a direct action to help address the lower homeownership rates within the African American community. The new initiative is making homeownership a reality for many African American citizens in the United States who are trapped within the poverty cycle.
The launch of the campaign follows Wells Fargo’s announcement to address Hispanic homeownership rates in 2015. Wells Fargo’s commitment seeks to:
- Lend $60 billion to qualified African American consumers for home purchases by 2027
- Increase the diversity of the Wells Fargo Home Lending sales team, and
- Support the effort with $15 million to support a variety of initiatives that promote financial education and counseling over the next ten years.
“Wells Fargo’s $60 billion lending goal can contribute to economic growth by making responsible homeownership possible for more African Americans in communities across the country,” said Brad Blackwell, executive vice president and head of housing policy and homeownership growth strategies for Wells Fargo. “We are proud to be the first mortgage lender to make a public commitment to help increase African American homeownership. And, we are grateful for the support of key housing and civil rights organizations, who work alongside us to increase economic prosperity in our communities.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by the year 2024, 75 percent of the expected 14 million new households (renters and owners) in the U.S. will be diverse. African Americans are projected to represent 17 percent, or the third largest segment, of the new households.
The NAACP, National Urban League, and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers are joining in on the efforts by setting their own homeownership goals. The National Urban League provides homebuyer education and counseling through its network of affiliate offices across the country.
The bank is the first financial institution to acknowledge publicly Black Americans’ wealth-building potential and has received support from different groups.
