CPC Maintains Strong S&P Rating, Demonstrates Resilience while Continuing to Grow Community Impact During a Volatile Time in the Market
New York City, NY (May 18, 2022) – The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a leading nonprofit multifamily finance company, today announced that S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed its “AA-” issuer credit rating with a Stable Outlook. In the 2022 report, S&P Global described the rating as a reflection of CPC’s “well-diversified revenue sources” and “experienced, proactive management team and board, with strong risk oversight and governance capabilities.”
CPC provides capital to multifamily housing projects through its construction lending, mortgage lending and equity investing businesses that advance its mission of community development and revitalization. Since its founding in 1974, the company has provided more than $12 billion to finance over 220,000 units of multifamily workforce and affordable housing. Notably, the S&P ratings report named CPC’s ability to “diversify revenue streams [and] expand the organization’s footprint prudently beyond New York” as a “sophisticated, proactive management and forward looking-strategy” and a contributor to the firm’s credit strength.
“We’re thrilled that S&P has reaffirmed our AA- issue credit rating,” said Rafael E. Cestero, CEO of CPC. “Throughout the pandemic and its aftermath, we have met unexpected challenges in an extremely volatile operating environment. To be able to maintain our AA- rating validates the strategy we have in place and proves that we have a company that can weather the ups and downs of any market. Our ability to be resilient and flexible means that we can continue to grow our impact in the communities we serve, and we can serve them in their times of greatest need.”
“CPC’s leadership has done an outstanding job of building a strong, resilient, and agile company that has continued to expand its social impact over the course of the last two years,” said Alan Wiener, CPC Board Chair, and Managing Director of Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital. “S&P’s assessment and its decision to maintain the CPC’s impressive rating is a testament to the company’s mission-driven work, and it’s irreplaceable role in the affordable housing and community development industry.”
As one of the largest community development financial institutions (CDFI) in the nation dedicated to investing in multifamily housing, CPC remains among a select group of CDFIs to have successfully achieved an S&P rating. The original 2019 designation positioned the company to access the capital markets and raise $150 million in sustainability bonds in early 2020, the single largest bond sale executed by a CDFI at that time. The offering attracted approximately $300 million in orders and demonstrated the market’s confidence in CPC’s financial strength and ability to create a positive impact in communities through its mission focused work. CPC deployed the capital raised by its inaugural issuance in furtherance of its nonprofit mission of investing in affordable, sustainable and workforce multifamily housing in New York State and City and throughout the Northeast United States.
The S&P report also described the challenges and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic as “social risks, [resulting] in higher NPAs and charge-offs, and longer construction timelines.” S&P global went on to say that “CPC’s strong underwriting, loan subsidies, and reserves insulate the organization from this near-term volatility.”
CPC’s initial issuance, and subsequent recertification was led by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC with joint bookrunner Seibert Williams Shank & Co. L.L.C., a majority woman-owned and minority-owned financial services firm.
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About The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC)
CPC is a nonprofit multifamily finance company that was founded in 1974 to provide financial resources to stabilize and revitalize underserved communities. Today, CPC uses its unique expertise in housing finance and public policy to expand access to affordable housing and drive down the costs of housing production, advance diversity and equity within the development industry, and impact the effects of climate change in our communities through the financing of sustainable housing. Since its founding, CPC has invested over $12 billion to finance the creation and preservation of more than 220,000 units of housing through its lending and investing platforms. CPC is a carbon neutral company and has been rated AA- by S&P. Visit CPC at communityp.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.