For R.I. Housing, diversification is key

SWEATING THE SMALL THINGS: Kara Lachapelle's command of the details of the housing bond market and the inner workings of Rhode Island Housing have helped the agency weather the Great Recession and improve its financial health. Pictured here, from left, are Executive Director Barbara Fields, Lachapelle, Director of Home Ownership Peter Walsh and alternative lending manager Tricia Herbert. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
SWEATING THE SMALL THINGS: Kara Lachapelle's command of the details of the housing bond market and the inner workings of Rhode Island Housing have helped the agency weather the Great Recession and improve its financial health. Pictured here, from left, are Executive Director Barbara Fields, Lachapelle, Director of Home Ownership Peter Walsh and alternative lending manager Tricia Herbert. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

With Kara Lachapelle as director of finance and technology for the past four years, the state’s principal housing agency has been able not only to successfully navigate the waters post-recession, but expand its programming and offerings to directly assist more state residents.

“Rhode Island Housing’s strong financial infrastructure is directly attributable to Kara’s expertise and the foundation of strong financial controls she has created,” the agency said in its CFO Awards application.

Created by the General Assembly in 1973, Providence-based Rhode Island Housing’s mission is to help create healthy homes. The privately funded public-purpose corporation assists residents in finding, renting, buying, building and keeping homes through various lending programs, by administering grants and subsidies, and by engaging in numerous housing-related education and assistance efforts. The organization is completely autonomous, receiving no direct state funding, instead supporting itself through loans with private capital, as well as through the administration of federal housing programs.

Lachapelle, who previously worked in public accounting, has been at R.I. Housing for 14 years and was named CFO in 2011.

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“Kara’s years of commitment to the agency has helped us to strengthen our organization and position us for future growth,” said the organization.

One of Lachapelle’s most significant contributions to R.I. Housing’s recent success was her decision to shift to a TBA (or “to be announced”) loan model. As the agency stressed in a statement, she determined with “accuracy and precision” how loans under this new model would be priced, how much lenders would be paid, and how loans would be sold on the secondary market.

The shift in direction transformed R.I. Housing into a profitable entity – by contrast, it had recently laid off 30 employees – ultimately increasing its overall loan volume 84 percent between 2013 and 2014. Likewise, it attracted more lenders to become partners, growing partner-supported loans from 86 in 2013 to 423 in 2014.

The strong fiscal foundation Lachapelle has built allows R.I. Housing to meet its goals. “Without the backbone of fiscal responsibility, we would not be able to accomplish many of our successes and provide the services and supports to help Rhode Islanders with the most basic of human needs: shelter,” the agency said.

Some significant successes in 2014 have included the issuance of $117 million in bonds for single and multifamily financing activities, and the boost in the agency’s Issuer Credit Rating from Standard and Poor’s from AA- to A+.

All told, Rhode Island Housing invested $376 million in the state in 2014, and despite economic bumps, its annual gross revenue has remained strong, at $95.7 million in 2014 and $91.3 million in 2013.

She oversees the structuring and issuance of all Rhode Island Housing’s debt, as well as investment of nonmortgage assets. And ultimately – though she acknowledged that it’s not the “sexiest” of topics – mortgage bonds are her “bread and butter.” She manages the critical and complicated process of mortgage bonds, which inevitably determine how much help the agency can provide through its mortgage programs, as well as pivotal efforts such as heating assistance, homebuyer education and lead abatement.

“Her colleagues note her outstanding knowledge of the bond market, and … her abilities when it comes to dealing with the funding of loans and refinancing, which have a domino effect on the agency’s budget,” R.I. Housing said in a statement.

Lachapelle herself is humble about her successes, saying in an interview that “the organization as a whole deserves the recognition. … Rhode Island Housing is very collaborative. We work together as a team and draw from each other’s strengths and talents to be innovative and help people in Rhode Island.” •

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