Jerrold H. Abrahams
Adjunct Associate Professor
Professor Abrahams has taught at Wagner since 2009, throughout the course of his career he has focused on ESG investing in housing, renewable energy, and infrastructure.
He is the former Chief Executive Officer of ORIX Commercial Mortgage Services Inc, the holding company of Lument, one of the nation’s leading providers of FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac mortgages for affordable and market rate multi-family commercial real estate. Professor Abrahams also over saw Boston Financial Investment Management, a leading low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) syndicator. While at ORIX, Professor Abrahams led teams for numerous investments in real estate, renewable energy and municipal finance including the acquisition of three large scale real estate business.
Prior to joining ORIX, Professor Abrahams was a Managing Director at Citi. Through the course of his 20-year career at Citi, Professor Abrahams has worked as a public finance banker, credit and financial product specialists and co-headed the Municipal Capital Markets Syndicate desk in 2009-2010. Professor Abrahams is a recipient of the Citigroup Global Customer Solutions Award in 1999 for his work on the Highway 407 financing in Toronto Canada which, at the time, was the largest privatization ever completed in North America. While part of the Credit and Financial Products Group, Professor Abrahams completed some of the largest transactions completed by the firm at the time including $700 million for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, $1.0 billion for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, $1.4 billion for the Chicago Skyway LLC and $600 Million for the New York Jets Stadium LLC. Professor Abrahams also was a member of the divisions Diversity Committee.
In 2012, Professor Abrahams briefly served as chief investment officer for a renewable energy fund.
In 2020, Governor Ned Lamont appointed Professor Abrahams to the Board of the Connecticut Financing Housing Agency where he serves on the both the governing board and audit committee. He is also a board member of a local sewer district in Connecticut. Professor Abrahams was also a Board Member for ARC Group Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQCM:ARCW) where he was chair of the audit committee. While at ORIX, he was a Board Member for the ORIX Foundation, an impact giving philanthropic organization.
Professor Abrahams has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Columbia University.
For better or worse, both affordable housing and renewable energy projects in the US are mostly built and owned by private developers and corporations. These private developers in turn are reliant on private capital provided by investors, corporations and banks. Almost all these investors rely heavily on federal tax credits. 90% of affordable housing in the US receives a subsidy through the low-income housing tax credit (“LIHTC”). Virtually all large-scale wind and solar projects receive tax credit subsides as well (“ITC” or “PTC”). This course is designed for students who are interested in either of these two important areas of public policy as well as students interested in careers in municipal finance who want to expand their knowledge in related fields. We will begin with an overview of what developers need to build their projects and what investors are seeking and how common tax credit programs bridge the gaps. By studying this topic, students will also gain a general understanding of multi-family housing, renewable energy, project development and project financing and federal tax expenditures. Lastly, we will examine the overall efficiency, fairness and policy implications of such subsidies structures that benefit banks, corporations and private developers as well as at-risk populations and society in general.
This course introduces students to the main areas of corporate finance and how they relate to policy issues and discussions. The course covers topics in the three main areas of corporate finance: 1) capital structure (financing choices), 2) valuation (project and firm valuation) and 3) corporate governance (optimal governance structures). We will analyze how public policy, through taxes, public expenditures and regulation, affect these aspects of corporate finance. The course will additionally explore how key economic events have shaped public policy and influenced corporate financial practices. Case analysis will be used to enable students to understand practical application of the corporate finance theory introduced in the course and will also incorporate discussion of corporate finance in the context of social enterprises.
For better or worse, both affordable housing and renewable energy projects in the US are mostly built and owned by private developers and corporations. These private developers in turn are reliant on private capital provided by investors, corporations and banks. Almost all these investors rely heavily on federal tax credits. 90% of affordable housing in the US receives a subsidy through the low-income housing tax credit (“LIHTC”). Virtually all large-scale wind and solar projects receive tax credit subsides as well (“ITC” or “PTC”). This course is designed for students who are interested in either of these two important areas of public policy as well as students interested in careers in municipal finance who want to expand their knowledge in related fields. We will begin with an overview of what developers need to build their projects and what investors are seeking and how common tax credit programs bridge the gaps. By studying this topic, students will also gain a general understanding of multi-family housing, renewable energy, project development and project financing and federal tax expenditures. Lastly, we will examine the overall efficiency, fairness and policy implications of such subsidies structures that benefit banks, corporations and private developers as well as at-risk populations and society in general.
For better or worse, both affordable housing and renewable energy projects in the US are mostly built and owned by private developers and corporations. These private developers in turn are reliant on private capital provided by investors, corporations and banks. Almost all these investors rely heavily on federal tax credits. 90% of affordable housing in the US receives a subsidy through the low-income housing tax credit (“LIHTC”). Virtually all large-scale wind and solar projects receive tax credit subsides as well (“ITC” or “PTC”). This course is designed for students who are interested in either of these two important areas of public policy as well as students interested in careers in municipal finance who want to expand their knowledge in related fields. We will begin with an overview of what developers need to build their projects and what investors are seeking and how common tax credit programs bridge the gaps. By studying this topic, students will also gain a general understanding of multi-family housing, renewable energy, project development and project financing and federal tax expenditures. Lastly, we will examine the overall efficiency, fairness and policy implications of such subsidies structures that benefit banks, corporations and private developers as well as at-risk populations and society in general.
For better or worse, both affordable housing and renewable energy projects in the US are mostly built and owned by private developers and corporations. These private developers in turn are reliant on private capital provided by investors, corporations and banks. Almost all these investors rely heavily on federal tax credits. 90% of affordable housing in the US receives a subsidy through the low-income housing tax credit (“LIHTC”). Virtually all large-scale wind and solar projects receive tax credit subsides as well (“ITC” or “PTC”). This course is designed for students who are interested in either of these two important areas of public policy as well as students interested in careers in municipal finance who want to expand their knowledge in related fields. We will begin with an overview of what developers need to build their projects and what investors are seeking and how common tax credit programs bridge the gaps. By studying this topic, students will also gain a general understanding of multi-family housing, renewable energy, project development and project financing and federal tax expenditures. Lastly, we will examine the overall efficiency, fairness and policy implications of such subsidies structures that benefit banks, corporations and private developers as well as at-risk populations and society in general.