July 28, 2020

Fannie Mae goes green with new CICERO certification

5 minutes

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire covers Fannie Mae’s endorsement from CICERO Shades of Green for its single-family homes.

For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:

Fannie Mae, the largest issuer of green bonds in the world, said on Monday it received an endorsement from CICERO Shades of Green for its mortgage-backed securities that are the first containing loans backed by single-family homes that are energy efficient.

Fannie Mae has issued over $40 million of the MBS since the first bond was created on April 22 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the company said in a statement. The bonds contain mortgages backed by newly constructed single-family homes with ENERGY STAR certification.

On average, the homes backing the loans in the MBS are 20% more efficient than single-family homes built to code, Fannie Mae said. CICERO is a global provider of green ratings for bonds.

“We’ve heard from investors that there is greater demand than there ever has been for investments that are socially responsible,” said Renee Schultz, Fannie Mae’s senior vice president of capital markets.

In the multifamily market, Fannie Mae has issued $75 billion of green MBS since 2012 backed by either green-certified properties or properties targeting a reduction in energy or water consumption, the company said.

Following the main story, HousingWire covers a report from Zillow that claims multifamily households will be hit hardest by the loss of CARES Act unemployment benefits, and an outlook on how the HEROES Act could help the nation’s renters and homeowners.

The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.

HousingWire articles covered in this episode:

Fannie gets CICERO certification for its single-family green bonds

Renter households will be hardest hit by loss of CARES Act unemployment benefits

Here’s how the HEROES Act could help renters and homeowners

...more