Columbia Bank ‘Advancing Access’ with nearly $128M homeownership program

Listen to this article

Columbia Bank is trying to help expand homeownership by offering affordable loan solutions in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods throughout New Jersey.

“Advancing Access” is a special purpose credit program under which the Fair Lawn-based bank pledges approximately $128 million to promote homeownership in Jersey City, Paterson, Newark and Camden, along with other Garden State communities, the bank announced Aug. 28. The funding represents about $125 million in principal loan originations at subsidized rates as well as $3 million in subsidy grants.

Columbia Bank said Advancing Access offers eligible borrowers:

• Discounted rates;
• Grant funding up to $10,000 for help with down payment or closing costs;
• The ability to combine with existing grants for people in low-to-moderate income census tracts;
• Private Mortgage Insurance waiver; and
• Special underwriting requirements, including lower FICO score requirements.

Allotments have been assigned per census tract and may be fully deployed at time of application, according to the bank.

“As a local community bank, delivering products that enhance the diverse communities that we serve is a vital part of our mission,” Columbia Bank President and CEO Thomas Kemly said in a statement. “The product’s name aligns closely with the Bank’s intent … To advance access to homeownership throughout the state within Black and Hispanic communities.

“We look forward to expanding our relationships with local affordable housing organizations, have added additional Account Executives to support expected demand, and are proud to support the success of our ongoing community commitments,” Kemly continued.

Owning a home is a major means for American households to build wealth. According to a 2020 report from NJ Future, in New Jersey nearly 77% of non-Hispanic white households owned their home, compared with just 41% of Black households. At slightly under the national rate, the Garden State was 16th-highest in the U.S. when it came to Black homeownership, the report found.

In 2022, real estate company Redfin took a look at the change between pre- and post-pandemic homeownership for Black and white families, finding it increased only slightly (from 44% to 44.7% for the former and from 73.7% to 74% for the latter), while the gap between Black and white homeownership – nearly 30 percentage points – “has also barely changed over the last decade.”

Programs like Advancing Access are designed to end that stagnation.

Columbia Bank said the new initiative is a continuation of efforts to serve its assessment area, which includes more than 60 locations across Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Union, Monmouth and Middlesex counties.

In 2021, Columbia Bank introduced the Access Homeownership Grant, providing up to $10,000 in down payment or closing cost assistance to qualified low- and moderate-income borrowers. The bank says it has also offered an Affordable Mortgage Program – that offers no PMI, competitive rates and waived fees – to qualified borrowers.

According to the bank, any borrower, regardless of race or ethnicity, seeking to purchase or refinance a home in eligible communities is welcome to apply. More information about the Advancing Access program is available here.

Earlier this month, Wells Fargo Home Lending also announced efforts to equitize home ownership wit the launch of a $10,000 grant program to help expand access in underserved communities, including in Camden, Jersey City and Newark.