The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is a United States government agency that regulates construction, mortgage finances, and insures loans made by banks and other private lenders for home building. Its mission is to provide home financing where the private market fails to do so and to uphold housing standards. The FHA was established in 1934, to stabilize the housing market during the Great Depression. It is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since 2015, Ed Golding has served as the agencys commissioner, replacing Biniam Gebre. The FHA is not taxpayer-funded. Proceeds from the mortgage insurance homeowners pay to the agency fund its operations. In 2009, to buoy the New York housing market, the FHA loosened its criteria for insuring mortgages and allowed first-time buyers to make down payments of as little as 3.5% of the value of a home. -TA