Debby Jenkins
Debby Jenkins took a risk to relocate her family in 2008—in the middle of a financial crisis—to join Freddie Mac, and it paid off. She came to the government-sponsored enterprise to start the underwriting and credit platform now known as the K Deal and a decade later took over as executive vice president and head of Freddie Mac Multifamily.
Debby Jenkins, executive vice president and head of multifamily, Freddie Mac
“Who knew a kid from Detroit in 2008 was going to end up in this role a decade after coming in,” she says. “It’s not just the leadership, it’s about the mission—what we do on a daily basis that separates us from other commercial real estate players. Freddie Mac’s mission is grounded in a commitment to doing everything we can do to keep housing and rental housing affordable.”
Jenkins credits her background—growing up in a blue-collar town just outside Detroit’s city limits and being a high school and college athlete—for teaching her the grit, perseverance, and competitive spirit needed to succeed in the business.
“I really believe that has had a big impact on myself,” she says. “Coming from an athletic background provides the competitiveness, learning to play as a team, and losing gracefully. It helps make you a more rounded leader, especially in the evolving times that we live in today.”
Freddie Mac Multifamily is coming off a record year, providing $82.5 billion in loan purchase and guarantee volume. New this year is a $70 billion cap, with at least 50% of the business being mission-driven affordable housing, defined as affordable for residents at or below 80% of the area median income.
“We have different mission goals, and we feel pretty confident that we are going to be able to hit those goals and manage the cap,” she says. “It is about optimizing the deployment of $70 billion of debt capital over the course of the year to maintain our liquidity. We also are looking at making sound credit and risk decisions while bringing forward some of the technology and the lessons we have learned from the past year.”
Jenkins says Freddie Mac also will be using the breadth of its platform to address the persistent racial inequity that has occurred for years and help create a more equitable multifamily industry.
“We’ve got an opportunity here to do something. If we do it correctly with our partners in the industry, Freddie Mac can make a difference,” she says. “It’s not only an opportunity, but an obligation.”
