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MFA/Housing New Mexico presents FY2026 budget, explains bond strategy and legislative funding requests
Summary
Arundhati Bose, presenting as chief financial officer, described FY2026 budget projections, a prior $50 million appropriation, plans to blend taxable bonds with tax-exempt issues to stretch capacity, and a legislative ask including $135 million for the Housing Trust Fund.
Arundhati Bose, introduced to the committee as the agency's chief financial officer, presented the organization's FY2026 operating budget and financing strategy.
Bose said the agency received a one-time $50,000,000 allocation in the prior year that materially increased revenues and assets. She described changing market conditions in 2025 and explained the agency has begun blending taxable bonds with tax-exempt bonds to increase lending capacity while managing interest-rate impacts: "If it's tax exempt, the interest rate that we can apply to the first-time homebuyers is much lower. But when we put in the taxable bonds into that mix, the interest rate rises a little bit," she said.
On budget figures, Bose reported FY2026 budgeted revenue of $40,900,000 (an 11% increase from last year's $36,700,000), an expense budget of $36,300,000, and an expected net revenue of $4,600,000. She highlighted the agency's reliance on bond issuance and market reception—rating agencies and underwriters validate the bonds and demand can lower pricing when subscriptions are strong.
Bose reviewed the Housing Trust Fund and the Housing Opportunity Fund, saying the Housing Opportunity Fund has made about $262,300,000 in loans since inception and that the agency anticipates a $21,000,000 need for FY26 broken into down-payment assistance (~$13,000,000), Primero/Hero funds and emergency housing allocations.
When asked about capacity and legislative asks, agency staff said need exceeds current resources and identified priorities including gap financing for rental development, single-family production, and deeper down-payment assistance. Bose and staff said they plan to seek legislative support including a $135,000,000 request for the Housing Trust Fund and $500,000 for the Affordable Housing Act; they also noted a separate concept discussed by a senator of a larger $200,000,000 idea that would not be committee-endorsed at this time.
On staffing, the agency said it currently employs about 120 staff, trains for specialized roles, and monitors FTE needs annually; staff said they have physical room in their building to add positions if programs expand.
A retirement announcement followed the budget discussion: a staff member acknowledged that Bose (referred to as Arundhati in the transcript) is retiring and the committee thanked her for her service. No formal vote or budget action was taken during the meeting.
