New American Funding is Closing the Gap in Lending to Minorities
For far too long, far too many minorities have been unable to buy a home and build their own American Dream. New American Funding is working to change that.
The mortgage lender, which is the largest Hispanic-owned mortgage company in the U.S., is an industry leader in bringing homeownership opportunities to underserved communities.
In 2020, 36% of New American Funding’s home purchase loans were to minority borrowers compared to 25.5% for all institutions, based on the 2020 HMDA data.
The company also understands that there’s more work to be done. That’s why New American Funding is committed to lending $25 billion in new mortgages to Hispanic borrowers by 2024 and $20 billion to Black borrowers over seven years.
Today, New American Funding is the #1 lender to Hispanic borrowers, with a higher percentage of its loans going to Hispanic borrowers than any other lender in the top-25 largest mortgage companies in the US based on the 2020 HMDA data.
The effort to increase lending to underserved communities is led by Co-Founder and President Patty Arvielo, a first-generation Hispanic-American. Aiming to enhance the quality of the lending experience among Hispanic consumers and enrich the Hispanic community through homeownership, Arvielo established the Latino Focus initiative in 2013.
Arvielo created Latino Focus after identifying the unique challenges facing the Hispanic community when buying a home, including language barriers and financial literacy. The company invests in mortgage professionals equipped to work with Hispanic borrowers, including a focused effort on hiring bilingual employees. As a result, 23% of the company’s workforce is Hispanic. Overall, 45% of the company’s employees are minorities.
The company works hard to cultivate a 21st century workforce that is accepting to all. That culture has earned the company numerous diversity awards from various outlets, including being honored by Profiles in Diversity Journal for Innovations in Diversity and as a Diversity Leader.
The company’s efforts deliver results. In 2020, New American Funding's percentage of purchase lending to Hispanics borrowers was 51% more than the industry’s percentage based on the 2020 HMDA data.
In 2016, the company formed the New American Dream initiative to help the Black community realize the dream of homeownership. The purpose of New American Dream is to provide racial equity and build consumer confidence through home buying education, accessibility to credit, and mortgage industry career opportunity awareness to Black communities. With the New American Dream efforts, the company’s percentage of purchase lending to Black borrowers in 2020 was 85% more than the industry’s percentage based on the 2020 HMDA data.
In 2021, both the Latino Focus and New American Dream teams were honored by Profiles in Diversity Journal as Diversity Team Award winners. The award recognizes the “talented and dedicated team members who work together to support and advance diversity, inclusion, and equity within their respective organizations.”
These initiatives include involvement and guidance from senior leaders at New American Funding like Frank Fuentes, National Vice President, Multicultural Community Lending; Charles Lowery, Director of Legislative Policy and External Affairs; Anthony Holt, Branch Manager & Chair, New American Dream; Michael Moseby, Sales Manager & Co-Chair, New American Dream; Rick Humphery, Talent Acquisition & Vice President, Community Lending; John Drumgoole Jr., Vice President of Community Lending; and Kellie Hester, Senior Talent Acquisitions Manager, who help oversee cultural outreach and education efforts in underserved communities.
The company also partners with Freddie Mac to host monthly virtual homeownership events to educate on and encourage Black homeownership as a means of creating wealth. These educational events and workshops provide insight to real estate and lending professionals across the country.
Additionally, the company was honored by the Mortgage Bankers Association with its Diversity and Inclusion Residential Leadership Award for Market Outreach Strategies for Latino Focus and New American Dream. The National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA) awarded New American Funding recognition for Best Workplaces for Women and Minorities. Latino Focus was also previously honored with a Silver Stevie Award for Multicultural Communications or PR Campaign of the Year.
The company was also twice named a Best Workplace for Diversity by FORTUNE and Great Place to Work®. Company leaders Dwayne Graham and Anthony Holt were also both named to the inaugural Black Leaders Worth Watching list by Profiles in Diversity Journal.
By working closely with minority borrowers, New American Funding is empowering underserved communities to build wealth and create generational opportunities.