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ESL Federal Credit Union wins Home Possible RISE Awards from Freddie Mac

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Today, Sept. 1, Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) announced the winners of its Home Possible RISE AwardsSM. The annual program, RISE (Recognizing Individuals for Sustained Excellence), salutes Freddie Mac’s top clients across multiple categories for excellence with Home Possible® mortgages – Freddie Mac’s affordable lending solution for low- to-moderate-income home buyers.

ESL Federal Credit Union, which has a branch in Batavia, earned the following Home Possible RISE Awards:

  • Home Possible RISE Award for Greatest Volume in a specific community;
  • Home Possible RISE Award for Education to customers.

In 2019, ESL Federal Credit Union made homeownership possible for low and moderate income households by providing more than 200 Home Possible mortgage loans totaling approximately $24 million.

“ESL is honored to be recognized by Freddie Mac as a top performer for our efforts supporting homeownership for low- and moderate-income members, first-time homebuyers and underserved communities,” said Tony Holmes, vice president/director, mortgage lending, ESL Federal Credit Union.

“The Home Possible mortgage program is a perfect match for our efforts to improve access to homeownership throughout Greater Rochester. I commend our outstanding team for their work to guide our members through the process to help them achieve their dreams of homeownership.”

The Home Possible RISE Awards combined volume from national Home Possible and Home Possible Advantage mortgage options. Lenders must be active Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers, and correspondent lenders and brokers must originate through those Seller/Servicers. Freddie Mac reviewed 2019 data and awarded the top organizations among several categories.

The complete list of the award winners is available at FreddieMac.com/HomePossible/RISE.

About ESL Federal Credit Union

With 100 years of locally owned history, ESL Federal Credit Union serves as a full-service financial institution to more than 374,000 members. Founded in 1920, the company provides personal banking, business banking, mortgage services and wealth management services through its locally-based 22 branch network, telephone, mobile, online and live chat center.

The Rochester-based financial institution employs approximately 850 people in the Greater Rochester area and holds more than $7.3 billion in assets. Since 1996, ESL has paid out 25 consecutive Owners’ Dividends to its members totaling more than $170 million. The company has appeared on the Great Place to Work® Best Small & Medium Workplaces list for nine years since 2010.

ESL Federal Credit Union is headquartered at 225 Chestnut St., in Rochester, and can be found online at www.esl.org

About Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we’ve made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders, investors, and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac, and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

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