Company: Fannie Mae
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Industry: Financials
Hometown:Â New York City
Notable in 2023: Helped the "credit invisible" by making timely rent payments count in mortgage underwriting.
When Priscilla Almodovar took the reins of mortgage giant Fannie Mae in December 2022, she had the lofty goal of making homeownership accessible to everyone. That includes what she calls the "credit invisible," hardworking Americans who may not qualify for traditional loans. While these people may have saved up money for a down payment and showed a consistent history of paying their rent, those factors were never included in their credit scores.
"There are 44 million renters in this country," Almodovar said at CNBC's Equity and Opportunity: Exec Connect in 2023. "They are paying their rent. That rent didn't count – until now."
When I was in elementary school, I actually carried a briefcase. I didn’t know that I wanted to be a CEO exactly, but I knew I wanted to have a career outside the home, to contribute and to have an impact.Priscilla AlmodovarChief Executive Officer, Fannie Mae
As the only Latina currently serving as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Almodovar is using her voice to make sure these barriers don't go unnoticed. Fannie Mae, which handles one out of four mortgages in the U.S., now factors consistent rent payments into its loan decision-making process. It considers non-traditional income sources. The company is also calling for partners to help fight racial bias in housing appraisals as well as aid in lowering closing costs.
Her focus is more important than ever. Interest rates have recently been as high as 8% amid the Fed's rate hikes, exacerbating an already acute housing affordability crisis in America. While the labor market remains strong and wage gains solid, housing inventory is still at an all-time low, causing housing prices to soar and making the American Dream that much more out of reach for far too many.
Only 44% of Black households and 51% of Hispanic households own their own home, which lags behind the 66% of Americans overall, according to the most recent data from National Association of Realtors.
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