Bank invests $2.8M for NM loan funds

Two New Mexico groups that make loans to boost home and small-business ownership have gotten a total of $2.8 million in low-interest loans from BBVA Compass bank.

Homewise, which helps people buy homes, has received $2.3 million, and The Loan Fund has received a $500,000 loan from the bank.

The awards, announced Friday, are in the form of “equity equivalent investments,” which are low-interest loans made to community development financial institutions, according to a news release from BBVA.

Homewise said it plans to use the funds to support its mortgage loan origination operations and put 616 Albuquerque families into new homes over the next three years.

It said the award will also support other services, including financial literacy education and coaching, non-commissioned real-estate brokerage, affordable mortgage lending with down-payment assistance, low-cost home improvement and refinance lending, energy-efficient real estate development and disinvested property rehabilitation.

The Loan Fund plans to use its $500,000 to expand loans and lines of credit to small businesses and nonprofits that typically are unable to obtain financing through traditional lending sources.

The bank said the loans are part of its pledge “to commit $11 billion toward supporting low- to moderateincome communities” in its seven-state service area.