Wall Street Loots Federal Loans Meant for Affordable Housing

Oh look... Blackstone.

This Jacobin article discusses how private equity firms are exploiting loopholes in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) System, a Depression-era program meant to encourage affordable mortgage lending. Instead of supporting affordable housing, these firms are using government-subsidized loans obtained through insurance companies they own to fund their own business ventures, including buying up housing and driving up rents.

Here's a breakdown:

• The Loophole: Private equity firms are acquiring insurance companies, which then access low-interest loans from the FHLB system. These loans are supposed to be used for affordable mortgages, but the insurance companies invest the money in the private equity firms' portfolios instead.
• Who's Doing It: Major private equity firms like Apollo, KKR, and Blackstone are heavily involved. Apollo is a major player, earning potentially hundreds of millions of dollars annually through this practice.
• Impact: This diverts funds away from affordable housing initiatives and allows private equity firms to expand their holdings in the housing market. This contributes to rising rents, increased evictions, and a squeeze on homebuyers.
• Lack of Oversight: There's little oversight on how the loans are used, making it difficult to track where the money goes.
• Trump Era: Reforms to fix the system are uncertain under Trump's nominee for housing regulator, Bill Pulte, who has ties to the private equity industry.
• Real-Life Example: The article highlights the story of Darlene Simpson, a tenant in California whose rent has doubled and maintenance requests have been ignored since Blackstone (a major private equity landlord) purchased her building.
• The Big Picture: Private equity firms are becoming major landlords, profiting from the housing crisis while using funds intended to alleviate it.