Case Study: Bremer Homebuyer Employee Loan Program

Bremer Financial Corporation, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, offers the Bremer Homebuyer Employee Loan Program (HELP) to promote home ownership among its employees. The Program provides assistance to eligible employees in the form of a loan up to $5,000 to aid the employee in purchasing their first home. Under the Program, Bremer makes the loan payments of behalf of the employee until it is paid in full or until the employee is no longer employed by Bremer or no longer meets other qualification requirements.

Bremer reserves funds each year in order to provide benefits for approximately 50 loans at any time. Bremer is owned by both the employees and the Otto Bremer Foundation. Bremer has taken a leadership role in the support of a full range of housing choices for both its employees the overall community.