Bank of America Restructures Community Development Division

Bank of America’s Community Development Banking is no longer its own division. It has recently been integrated into the Commercial Real Estate Banking division.

Phyllis Caldwell, who has been president of Community Development Banking, is retiring after 20 years in banking.

The bank will continue to have community development banking and community development managers, said spokesman Greg Barnard.

“We’re always evolving,” he said, explaining that the business “is moving away from a line-of-business model to a geographic-coverage strategy.”

Barnard added that community development banking has been a successful line of business for Bank of America.

The restructuring has meant some layoffs.

The Commercial Real Estate Banking division is led by Gene Godbold.

One observer said that banks are under earnings pressure so the consolidation of divisions may be a trend. On the downside, community development no longer remains a distinct unit. However, others may argue that the consolidation is good because the community development products become part of the mainstream bank business.

HUD Revises Rule on PBV Rents

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule that drops the requirement that public housing agencies limit their Sec. 8 project-based voucher rents to low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) rents at assisted properties, reports Nixon Peabody, LLP.

The final rule reverses the cap on project-based voucher rents to LIHTC rents at assisted properties. In addition, HUD reiterates that public housing agencies may not enter into assistance contracts until HUD, or an independent entity approved by HUD, has conducted the required subsidy layering review and determined that the assistance is in accordance with HUD requirements.

Clara Fox, Champion of Affordable Housing, Dead at 90

Clara Fox, advocate for affordable housing and the founder of Settlement Housing Fund, died Nov. 9 in New York City.

“Clara originated the idea of combining low- and moderate-income housing with social programs,” said Conrad Egan, executive director of the National Housing Conference.

In 1969, she founded the Settlement Housing Fund, one of the first private nonprofit housing developers. The organization has created about 8,600 affordable apartments at more than 55 developments.

Fox also ran the first programs to train former New York City renters to become homeowners and managers after their buildings converted to middle-income cooperative housing through the Mitchell-Lama program, said Egan.

Born in the Bronx in 1917, Fox worked as the director of a private nursery school and as the first coordinator of New York City’s Head Start pre-kindergarten education program prior to founding Settlement Housing Fund.

Most recently, Fox served as co-chair of the New York Housing Conference, a regional affiliate of the National Housing Conference. At the time of her death, she was busy planning and organizing the annual awards luncheon in New York for these organizations, as she has done for the past several years.

“She was generous with her time, and mentored her successors,” said Egan. “Without question, Clara was always the brightest bulb in the room.”

Fox is survived by her daughter, Roberta Fox, of Manhattan, and a sister, Florence Blank, of the Bronx.

AHIC Names 2008 Leaders

Beth Stohr of U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp. (CDC) has been elected president of the Affordable Housing Investors Council (AHIC) for 2008.

Stohr was one of several new officers named at AHIC’s recent annual meeting. Patrick Nash of JPMorgan Capital Corp. will be vice president; Rosalyn Ciulla of Key Community Development, secretary; and Donald Phelan of Babson Capital Management, treasurer. In addition, AHIC elected Leila Ahmadifar of Citibank Community Development, Jill Edward of Merrill Lynch CDC, and Sindy Spivak of Bank of America as new board members.

AHIC is a nonprofit organization comprised of corporations engaged in the investment of funds for affordable housing. For more information, visit www.ahic.org.

AHF LIVE: CONFERENCE COVERAGE

Check out coverage from this year's AHF Live: The Tax Credit Developers’ Summit. The three-day conference at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Oct. 24-26 provided 600+ industry attendees with opportunities to learn and network.

Click on the links below for session recaps, photos, quotes and more.

Conference Wrap-Up

Slideshow: Snapshots from AHF Live
Slideshow: AHF Hall of Fame Awards
Slideshow: AHF Readers' Choice Awards
Slideshow: Bus Tour: Chicago