CLEVELAND—As reported earlier this week in GlobeSt.com, KeyBank has decided to launch a major expansion of its work in the affordable housing sector. Not only will the Cleveland-based institution expand its footprint in the sector from 12 to all 50 states, it plans on "doing more with our existing client base," Robert Likes, the head of Key's community, development, lending and investment segment, tells GlobeSt.com. He will lead the effort, which brings together six other senior-level leaders who will direct a team of more than 50 professionals across the US.

"The demand keeps growing and we have been very successful in a 12-state footprint for many years," he adds. And aside from the healthy state of the sector, this move makes sense for KeyBank in other ways. It has a 50-state footprint for its work in all other sectors, so this expansion simply brings the affordable housing sector in line with the rest.

But the great need for more affordable living spaces remains paramount. "There are only about 100,000 units that get added to the affordable housing stock each year," Likes says. And for several decades now, inflation-adjusted incomes have been flat but rental rates have usually maintained steady increases.