History of Housing Finance Agencies

In November, CSG Vice President Adam Cray gave a presentation on the history of housing finance agencies for the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies’ (NALHFA) Fall Educational Conference at the National Press Club.

Adam provided an overview of U.S. housing finance beginning with the limited private-sector solutions available before the 1930s, discussed the rise of government support for affordable housing and the advent of HFAs, and highlighted the key challenges and opportunities for HFAs over the past 60 years.

Beyond reviewing academic papers and industry publications, Adam drew on accounts from CSG colleagues with firsthand knowledge of events.

For more than 40 years*, CSG has been involved in many of the pivotal moments in this story, including:

• Structuring the first local mortgage revenue bond (MRB) issuance in the 1970s;
• Advocating for preservation of the MRB tax exemption and the formation of NALHFA itself;
• Helping execute the first MRBs and low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;
• Helping design what became U.S. Treasury’s $15 billion New Issue Bond Program and $6 billion Temporary Credit and Liquidity Program, which helped
• keep many state and local HFAs in business during the Great Recession;
• Working with HFAs and industry partners to help preserve private activity bonds in 2017; and
• Developing proposals to enhance 4% LIHTC by reducing the 50% Test.

*CSG was established in 1999. Predecessor firms include Gressel Gressel Slater, Caine Gressel Midgley Slater, and CGMS Incorporated.

The full presentation is available here.