Director of Financing
California Housing Finance Agency
Erwin Tam was appointed Director of Financing at the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2021. CalHFA is California’s statewide affordable housing lender dedicated to financing mortgage loans and downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers and multifamily rental developments for low- and moderate-income Californians.
As Director of Financing, Erwin is responsible for CalHFA’s financial operations. This includes the controllership, investments and treasury management, capital markets, financial planning and analysis, annual budget, and financial risk management.
Prior to joining CalHFA, Erwin spent 20 years in municipal advisory and investment banking roles, most recently as Senior Vice President at Backstrom McCarley Berry & Co. in San Francisco. He has consulted on and structured over $18 billion of municipal bonds throughout his career across a variety of sectors including K-12/higher education, transportation, municipal utilities, and general government.
Erwin was recently honored by the Sacramento Business Journal with a 2024 C-Suite Award in recognition of his efforts at CalHFA. Erwin has a BA from the University of California, Berkeley in Economics and Environmental Science (Biological Science).
The challenge of building new housing and making it affordable is omnipresent in California. With the new threshold test for bond-financed housing credit properties lowered to 25%, allowing additional buildings financed with tax-exempt bonds to qualify for housing credits, how are issuers preparing for new housing opportunities?