ATLANTA, Dec. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) announced today that it will award $4.9 million to assist in funding seven affordable housing developments in Alabama. The funding is part of $37.6 million FHLBank Atlanta will award in 15 states and the District of Columbia to create or preserve 3,922 units of affordable housing.

FHLBank Atlanta will award the funds as part of its 2011 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) offering. Local community developers, in partnership with FHLBank Atlanta member institutions, will use the funding to build or repair 404 affordable rental and homeownership units in the cities of Alexander City, Birmingham, Center Point, Clanton, Oneonta, Phenix, and Selma.

“Communities sharing in the benefits of effective operation and profitability are an important and unique aspect of the mission of FHLBank Atlanta,” said Arthur Fleming, senior vice president and director of Community Investment Services, FHLBank Atlanta. “The member institutions of the Bank continue to utilize products like AHP to provide the critical funding to improve their neighborhoods.”

AHP is a competitive funding program that helps develop owner-occupied and rental housing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income families. FHLBank Atlanta awards funds annually to member financial institutions and their community housing partners. AHP is a component of FHLBank Atlanta’s affordable housing, economic development, and down-payment assistance initiatives. For the complete list of AHP winners, visit www.fhlbatl.com/ahp.

About FHLBank Atlanta

FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank’s members–its shareholders and customers–are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, certified community development financial institutions, and insurance companies located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 12 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System which since 1990 has contributed more than $4 billion to the Affordable Housing Program.