Tyson Foods Launches $50 Million Homeownership Initiative for Team Members with Freddie Mac

The Tyson Workforce Home Benefit Program with Freddie Mac

SPRINGDALE, AR (February 13, 2004) – Tyson Foods, Inc., today will introduce a new and vital program to assist eligible Tyson Team Members become homeowners. Tyson is launching the $50 million Workforce Home Benefit program with the Tyson Credit Union, a division of 66 Federal Credit Union; Balance Financial Fitness Program; National Credit Union Foundation; and Freddie Mac, one of the nation’s largest investors in residential mortgages. The Tyson program is the largest of its kind in the United States.

The new initiative will enable many of Tyson’s 120,000 Team Members who meet eligibility requirements to obtain financial assistance with their down payment or closing costs when buying a home. The program also provides greater access to expert homeownership counseling, and flexible mortgage products with low down payment requirements. The Tyson Workforce Home Benefit program is open to Team Members who have worked for Tyson Foods for two years and have a household income of less than $54,500.

“We are delighted to offer this new benefit to many of our eligible Team Members who want to buy their first home,” said John Tyson, Chairman and CEO of Tyson Foods. “This initiative supports our core values, helps build roots in our plant communities and allows Tyson to retain dedicated and talented Team Members.”

“Freddie Mac is pleased to be a part of this visionary effort to increase housing choices for Tyson workers,” said Paul Peterson, Chief Operating Officer of Freddie Mac. “I applaud Tyson Foods, Tyson Credit Union, Balance Financial Fitness Program and the National Credit Union Foundation for coming together to foster a new generation of homeowners in an initiative that can be a model for corporations in America.”

To help defray Team Members’ out-of-pocket costs of buying a home, Tyson Foods, Tyson Credit Union, and National Credit Union Foundation are creating a down payment assistance fund that will provide second mortgages of approximately $3,000 per eligible Team Member for down payment and closing cost assistance. The second mortgages will be forgiven on a prorated basis over five years, provided the Team Member continues to work at Tyson Foods. Team Members who leave the company before the full five years will have to repay the balance of the second loan when they sell their home.

To prepare more families for the challenges of homeownership, the Balance Financial Fitness Program will provide pre-and-post purchase homeownership education and counseling, as well as early default counseling, in English and Spanish.

“So many of the credit union members we counsel are striving to purchase their first home,” said Joanne Budde, President of Balance. “It’s extremely gratifying to work closely with organizations that show such commitment to homeownership and to participate in a program that will enable so many families to achieve their dream.”

Tyson is also setting up special ATM-style kiosks in selected plants that will provide around-the-clock information in English and Spanish about the Workforce Home Benefit initiative, as well as information on the home buying process, financial literacy and credit counseling. The kiosks will be located at the Randall Road Plant, Springdale, Ark., as well as in Wilkesboro, N.C.; Cumming, Ga.; Storm Lake, Iowa; Carthage, Miss.; Finney County, Ks.; Lexington, Neb., and Seguin, Texas.

Tyson Credit Union will then provide qualified borrowers with access to mortgage products designed specifically for families with nontraditional credit histories or limited cash for down payments. Freddie Mac envisions purchasing as much as $50 million in eligible mortgages, ensuring a steady supply of mortgage credit for additional borrowers.

“Tyson Credit Union has had the opportunity to serve Tyson Team Members since 1995 by working together to achieve their financial goals,” said Kelly Diven, President and CEO of Tyson Credit Union. “This program takes that commitment to a higher level, helping Team Members achieve the goal of homeownership.”

Gary Officer, Executive Director of the National Credit Union Foundation said that this is an incredible opportunity and a landmark partnership. “The National Credit Union Foundation is pleased to bring the financial resources of the credit union industry to the table in support of home ownership for Tyson Team Members,” he added.

Today’s announcement is part of Freddie Mac’s Catch the Dream initiative, a set of 25 efforts designed to help achieve President George W. Bush’s goal of adding 5.5 million minority homeowners by the end of the decade.

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