Supporting Local Communities With the Community Reinvestment Act

Flagstar CRA programs support the communities we serve.

Flagstar Bank is committed to meeting the banking and credit needs of the communities where we do business, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Through our Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) initiatives, we’ve invested $50 million in community lending and community development programs that revitalize neighborhoods and make homeownership more affordable.

Our approach goes beyond simply investing, however. We work closely with local civic and nonprofit leaders and businesses to identify and establish sustainable solutions.

Other recent examples of our Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) banking initiatives:

• Establishing programs for down payment assistance, grants, and flexible mortgage requirements
• Closing the digital divide in Inkster, Mich., through a $1 million pledge to the Strategic Alliance Community Development Corporation
• Building an affordable tiny home in Detroit in partnership with Cass Community Social Services
• Supporting lending circles that break the cycle of predatory payday lenders
• Volunteering 4,200 hours each year to build financial literacy at a local level

Expanding DEI in the Appraisal Industry

There is a long-standing wealth gap within the housing industry, partly due to the lack of diversity within the appraisal workforce. Currently, appraisers are disproportionately homogenous, with Black Americans composing less than 2% of all appraisers, while 4% are Hispanic or Latino and only 1% are Asian. As a result, homes in Black neighborhoods are typically valued 21%-23% lower than in non-Black neighborhoods, according to the Brookings Institute.

The Appraiser Diversity Initiative is committed to addressing the lack of diversity within the appraisal industry, reaching diverse, talented candidates and educating them on the appraisal profession by: 

• Providing resources 
• Offering peer mentorship for career development with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appraisers and ADI sponsors
• Supporting trainee and job placement assistance 

Flagstar has committed $1 million to sponsor recruiting workshops and to support pathways to appraiser licensing through industry connections and experience, including simulations of the appraisal experience as an alternative to the traditionally supervisory appraiser-trainee model. We’re proud to support ADI as part of our continuing work for greater DEI in our company and communities.

CRA volunteer work

Flagstar is also committed to improving financial literacy in our communities. That’s why you’ll find us educating young people on the importance of saving and teaching families homebuying basics.

Through our CRA community service, Flagstar employees volunteered 4,127 hours for 227 organizations.

Here are some of the many events and organizations we support as volunteers and board members:

• American Bankers Association: Get Smart About Credit
• Forgotten Harvest
• Habitat for Humanity
• Junior Achievement
• Money Smart Week
• Operation Hope: Banking On Our Future
• Opportunity Resource Center
• Salvation Army
• Tax foreclosure assistance
• Whaley Children's Center
  

Our Community Lending and Home Loan Programs page provides additional information about specialty and CRA mortgage programs, grants, and down payment assistance. For more information about Flagstar’s community support, visit Community Initiatives.

Flagstar Bank’s Community Reinvestment Act team