Citywide Banks Purchases $1.235 Million Mortgage Loan Portfolio From Habitat for Humanity

Local banking institution gives affordable housing support in metro Denver

Citywide Banks – a subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA Inc. – and Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver kicked off the new year with a partnership that includes the purchase of six home mortgage loans, resulting in an infusion of capital into Habitat's local homeownership programs.

The homes – totaling $1.235 million – were built in 2018. Habitat partners with low-income families in metro Denver to build affordable homes which are then sold to families with affordable mortgages.

"We are pleased that Habitat for Humanity has given us this opportunity to meet the diverse housing needs in the Metro Denver area," says Michael Moulton, chief financial officer of Citywide Banks. "With Habitat's help, we are able to reinvest our depositor's funds back into the local community through this innovative transaction."

Habitat – part of a global nonprofit housing organization that seeks to build stability and self-reliance through affordable homeownership – sets monthly mortgage payments to not exceed 30 percent of their family's income, ensuring housing payments are both affordable and sustainable. Habitat Metro Denver has a foreclosure rate of just 0.3 percent on its mortgage portfolio, compared to approximately 1.2 percent for the residential mortgage industry nationwide.

"We're grateful for our partnership with Citywide Banks," says Bruce Godfrey, chief financial officer of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. "Through this mortgage loan purchase, Citywide Banks is providing funding that will increase Habitat's capacity to serve families in the coming year."

Citywide Banks is a state-chartered, community-invested bank with assets of approximately $2.3 billion and banking centers located across Colorado's Front Range, the Foothills and Mountain communities.