The Finance Authority of N.O. names new executive director

1st August 2016   ·   0 Comments

The Finance Authority of New Orleans (FANO) Board of Trustees recently announced its appointment of Damon Burns to serve as its new Executive Director.

Burns will replace the Authority’s longtime executive director Mtumishi St. Julien, who announced his retirement after 25 years of service.

Damon Burns, a St. Augustine High School alum, is a public finance professional with more than 10 years of experience in investment & corporate banking, economic development and financial technology. As a former Vice President with Morgan Keegan, he led over $1 billion in municipal bond offerings on behalf of local and state agencies. Most recently, he founded Munivestor, a financial technology company focused on software solutions for the public finance industry.

After the retirement announcement of Mr. St. Julien, The Board of Trustees received more than 50 applications in response to its posting of the position availability.

“The Board is truly happy to find a public finance professional like Damon Burns who has the experience of serving the New Orleans market and knows The Finance Authority,” Gizelle Johnson-Banks, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, said. “Mr. Burns had the balance of technical, public finance and local experience that made the Board comfortable and confident in the future direction of The Authority.”

The Finance Authority of New Orleans is currently offering a bond program that provides down payment and closing cost assistance grants for up to four percent of the first mortgage amount to eligible homebuyers. The program offers assistance to borrowers with annual incomes up to $84,000 when borrowers choose to use a 30-year fixed-rate, FHA-approved mortgage loan or incomes up to $99,000 if borrowers choose a Freddie Mac HFA Advantage approved mortgage loan.

This article originally published in the August 1, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.