Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington National Bank, which last year opened a regional office tower in downtown Detroit, has launched Huntington Home for Good, a new mortgage product offering designed to meet the needs of applicants from historically under-resourced communities.
The product first will be introduced in the city of Detroit and select markets in Illinois and Wisconsin. Overall, the bank operates several dozen branch locations throughout metro Detroit.
“Huntington Bank’s Home for Good program is a direct reflection of our ongoing commitment to providing equal economic opportunity and access to all,” says Brant Standridge, president of the consumer and business bank at Huntington Bank. “We believe Home for Good will help provide equitable access to credit for people who may have encountered barriers to fulfilling their dreams of homeownership. Additionally, it creates an avenue of transferring wealth to succeeding generations, which is important to many consumers.”
According to the U.S. Census, as of the second quarter of 2021, the Black homeownership rate was 44.6 percent compared to 74.2 percent for whites. The Hispanic homeownership rate was 48.4 percent that same year. Huntington Home for Good is designed to complement the bank’s current mortgage programs while helping build generational wealth through homeownership in historically under-resourced communities.
This solution offers features to help expand access to home lending options by modifying eligible credit criteria, including expanded use of alternative credit, more debt evaluation flexibility, low down payment requirements, and higher debt-to-income limits compared to traditional affordable lending programs. In addition, Huntington will offer closing cost assistance for all borrowers who qualify for the product.
Huntington Home for Good aligns with Huntington’s 2021 Strategic Community Plan, a commitment of more than $40 billion to address social, racial, environmental, and economic inequities across the bank’s footprint. The community plan fosters financial opportunities for consumers, businesses, and communities served by Huntington, with a focus on affordable housing, small business loans, and increased capital to historically under-resourced and low-to-moderate-income communities.
