Owning a home is also one of the most important pathways to wealth creation, providing families with a foundation for improving their financial position across generations and building stronger communities in the process. Unfortunately, a significant gap between White, non-Hispanic, and minority homeownership rates has existed for decades and persists today.
Closing this gap is my personal passion and a core pillar of the work we鈥檙e doing at Wells Fargo. We鈥檙e proud of the actions we鈥檝e taken to advance racial equity in homeownership, including a new Special Purpose Credit Program that has helped more than 2,000 families reduce their interest rate to 3.75% without extending their loan term. Wells Fargo remained the nation鈥檚 leading bank lender to Black and Hispanic families in 2022, and we鈥檙e eager to build on this strong foundation.
We also know that more work remains, and that no single entity 鈥 no matter how large 鈥 can address systemic barriers to minority homeownership alone. Common pursuit of shared goals and meaningful collaboration across the housing ecosystem are essential to driving lasting impact. We are committed to continuing to play a leading role in the effort to advance racial equity in homeownership and are excited about the work that鈥檚 underway.
In the last year alone, we鈥檝e launched substantial initiatives that we believe can help drive real progress in closing the racial wealth gap. For example, Wells Fargo and the T.D. Jakes Group to drive economic vitality and inclusivity in communities across America. Over the next 10 years, the partnership between our organizations could result in up to $1 billion in capital and financing from Wells Fargo, as well as grants from the Wells Fargo Foundation, with the goal of revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering economic opportunity, and creating long-term change in communities most in need.
In February, Wells Fargo to the largest civil rights and social justice organization in the United States, the NAACP, to support its continued efforts to advance racial equity in America. I鈥檓 proud to say that the grant is the single largest donation the civil rights organization has ever received.
Wells Fargo also announced a 鈥 including a deeper focus on serving minority customers. In addition to expanding our Special Purpose Credit Program to purchase customers and hiring more Home Mortgage Consultants in minority communities, the strategy also deepened our partnerships with groups like the National Urban League and UnidosUS.
These announcements build on extensive work that鈥檚 already underway across Wells Fargo to advance racial equity in homeownership 鈥 including the $60 million 鈥淲ealth Opportunities Restored Through Homeownership鈥 (WORTH) program, a launched in partnership with the National Urban League, and the grant initiative focused on expanding the growth and success of real estate developers of color.
Individual actions to build a more equitable housing system play a crucial role in driving progress. The most powerful path to progress, though, lies in the actions we take together to make the dream of homeownership more accessible and sustainable for all.
Kristy Fercho is head of Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion for Wells Fargo.