NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- One year after Hurricane Katrina struck the Crescent City, Freddie Mac, Chase, Standard Mortgage Corp. and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage today announced they were joining an innovative effort the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation created to help current members of the New Orleans Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services buy homes. The announcement was made at a breakfast sponsored by the NOPJF to honor the first responders who served during Hurricane Katrina. The NOPJF Mortgage Subsidy program provides eligible employees of the city's police, fire and emergency medical services with subsidies of up to $8,000 to help cover downpayment and closing costs. To date, the NOPJF program has helped 245 first responders become New Orleans homeowners. Today's announcement will expand the initiative and make home possible for as many as 500 additional families, including the 200 first responders on the NOPJF waiting list. That's because Freddie Mac, Chase, Standard Mortgage and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage are supplementing the existing initiative by adding access to flexible mortgage products, including Freddie Mac's HomePossible(R) suite of affordable mortgage products. These lenders will make available home financing at affordable rates to borrowers with limited credit and downpayment savings through a series of subsidized programs. Freddie Mac will purchase eligible mortgages from the lenders. "Helping our first responders in the community get back on their feet is a huge priority," commented NOPJF President Robert A. Stellingworth. "This special program will assist many of these heroes in re-building their disrupted lives with financial assistance they need right now." "The New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation's effort to foster homeownership in the Crescent City deserves everybody's applause and support," said Craig Nickerson, vice president of expanding markets at Freddie Mac. "We are delighted to join with the NOPJF and work with Wells Fargo, Chase and Standard Mortgage so the men and women who protect New Orleans can live in the communities they serve as the city recovers from last year's storms." "Chase's goal is to strengthen communities by increasing homeownership," said Thasunda Duckett, Senior Vice President, Chase Emerging Markets & Affordable Lending. "We are pleased to work with Freddie Mac and the NOPFJ to support the revival of New Orleans by helping the first responders finance a home of their own in the community of their choice." "Wells Fargo is committed to helping people purchase a home that will be the foundation of their financial security," said Stephanie Simon, vice president of Emerging Markets for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "Recently we introduced the Home Opportunities(SM) program, designed to help serve consumers with down payment difficulties and/or lack of traditional credit history with features designed to help them qualify for loans they can afford. We hope more people will continue to take advantage of this beneficial program." "Standard Mortgage has worked with the NOPJF for a number of years and we are proud to assist those who risked their lives to protect and serve the community by participating in the NOPJF Mortgage Subsidy homeownership program," said Edgar Bright III, president of Standard Mortgage Corp. "By making affordable housing a reality for our city's first responders this initiative will help fuel New Orleans' return to a vibrant, thriving and safe community." Today's announcement builds on Freddie Mac's commitment to support the recovery of areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Since the storms struck, Freddie Mac has financed $1 billion in below-market rate home loans by purchasing mortgage revenue bonds from Gulf Coast housing agencies, including the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency and Finance Authority of New Orleans. Freddie Mac has also extended forbearance and suspended foreclosures for tens of thousands of Gulf Coast borrowers and eased its underwriting policies so lenders can make more affordable, low downpayment mortgages to storm victims. For more information on the NOPJF Mortgage Subsidy initiative, contact a NOPJF housing program advisor by calling 504-352-4173 or 558-9944. Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and four million renters in America. http://www.freddiemac.com/ DATASOURCE: Freddie Mac CONTACT: Brad German of Freddie Mac, +1-703-903-2437 Web site: http://www.freddiemac.com/

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