Charleston, SC - Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.

Charleston Bank Consortium

The Charleston Bank Consortium was created in 1994 by the City of Charleston and 10 local banks to address the lack of affordable homeownership opportunities and improve dilapidated housing. A unique and important feature of this project is the extent of participation by the lending community in Charleston - the involvement of 10 banks, which represents most of the banks in this City of about 80,000 residents.

With the launch of the Charleston Bank Consortium in 1995, the City started immediately to make progress toward its homeownership goals for low- and moderate-income residents. During its first two years, the Consortium approved and closed over 75 loan applications for families with incomes between 35 percent and 100 percent of the median. Over the next two years, an additional 80 loans were made to prospective homeowners. A commitment of $7.5 million from the 10 lending institutions, $840,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, $160,000 from the Enterprise Community, and $600,000 from the City's CDBG program made the loans possible. Since this initial investment, additional CDBG funds have been allocated to the Consortium to support its continuing operation.

Consortium services go beyond loan assistance. Through the partnership of the City, the banks and non-profit organizations in the community, well over 800 individuals have received free homeownership training classes as well as the credit counseling and budgeting information they need to prepare for future homeownership.

Contact: Patricia Crawford, Director, Housing and Community Development, at (843) 724-3766

The United States Conference of Mayors

J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352

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