Woodforest National Bank Seed Investor in Innovative Exchange Traded Fund Aimed to Reduce Racial Wealth Gap for Minority and Low-Income Families

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, 29 de Julio, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodforest National Bank^® has made a $5 million seed investment in the Impact Shares Affordable Housing MBS ETF (NYSE: OWNS), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by pools of mortgage loans made to minorities, low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals and families who live in persistent poverty areas.

"Homeownership not only helps build wealth, but more importantly it creates confidence, dignity, and pride within our communities across Woodforest's 17-state footprint. Investing in this innovative capital structure is another responsive step to combat the growing crisis in our country for affordable homeownership opportunities, especially for minority and LMI borrowers," said Jay Dreibelbis, President and CEO, Woodforest National Bank.

OWNS will invest in MBS issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. Over half of the loans OWN invests in will be made to LMI borrowers including home loans in census tracts where over 50% of the population is non-white and at least 40% of the population is living at or below the poverty line. Daniel Galindo, Senior Vice President and Community Development and Strategy Director at Woodforest National Bank is serving on the OWNS national advisory board which will oversee the ETF and its potential investment opportunities. The advisory board looks to address additional challenges to homeownership, such as down payment assistance, with the ultimate goal of expanding access to homeownership for minority and LMI families.

OWNS was launched earlier this week by Impact Shares and is sub-advised by Community Capital Management (CCM), a pioneer in fixed income impact investing management. OWNS enables investors like Woodforest the opportunity to provide capital to help reduce the wealth gap through affordable homeownership.

"Woodforest National Bank has been a long-time investor in our CCM Community Impact Bond Fund, and we are thrilled to have them as a seed investor in OWNS," said Alyssa Greenspan, President and COO at CCM. "This investment demonstrates their ongoing commitment to community development investments and the importance of serving the needs of their communities."

"Decades of economic inequality and discriminatory homeownership policies have created a prominent racial wealth gap," notes Marvin Owens, Chief Engagement Officer at Impact Shares. "Providing affordable housing to minority Americans is a crucial step in helping to address the widening racial wealth gap and catalyzing economic growth in LMI communities."

Learn more about OWNS at https://www.impactetfs.org/owns-etf/.