[United States Government Manual]
[June 15, 2003]
[Pages 403-406]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

1777 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20006

Phone, 202-408-2500. Internet, www.fhfb.gov.
Board of Directors:                                 

Chairman                                          John T. Korsmo
Members:                                          Allan I. Mendelowitz, 
                                                          Franz S. 
                                                          Leichter, J. 
                                                          Timothy 
                                                          O'Neill
    (Secretary of Housing and Urban               Mel R. Martinez
            Development, ex officio)
        Housing and Urban Development             John C. Weicher
                Secretary's Designee to 
                the Board
Counsels to the Chairman                          Thomas D. Casey, Shane 
                                                          C. Goettle
Special Assistant to the Chairman                 N. Carter Wood
Senior Policy Advisor to the Chairman             Joseph M. Ventrone
Special Assistants to Board Directors             Charles D. Jones, 
                                                          Christopher J. 
                                                          Morton, Julie 
                                                          Fallon Stanton

Officials:

Inspector General                                 Edward Kelley
General Counsel and Secretary of the Board        Arnold Intrater

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Director, Office of Supervision                   Stephen M. Cross
Director, Office of Management                    Judith L. Hofmann

[For the Federal Housing Finance Board statement of organization, see 
        the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 12, Part 900]

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The Federal Housing Finance Board is responsible for the administration 
and enforcement of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, as amended.

The Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) was established by the 
Federal Home Loan Bank Act, as amended by the Financial Institutions 
Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) (12 U.S.C. 1421 
et seq.), as an independent regulatory agency in the executive branch. 
The Finance Board succeeded the Federal Home Loan Bank Board for those 
functions transferred to it by FIRREA.
    The Finance Board is managed by a five-member Board of Directors. 
Four members are appointed by the President with the advice and consent 
of the Senate for 7-year terms; one of the four is designated as 
Chairperson. The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development is the fifth member and serves in an ex officio capacity.
    The Finance Board supervises the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks created 
in 1932 by the Federal Home Loan Bank Act and issues regulations and 
orders for carrying out the purposes of the provisions of that act. 
Savings associations, commercial banks, savings banks, credit unions, 
insurance companies, and other institutions specified in section 4 of 
the act that make long-term home-mortgageloansare eligible to become 
members of the Federal Home Loan Banks. The Finance Board supervises the 
Federal Home Loan Banks and ensures that they carry out their housing 
finance and community investment mission and remain adequately 
capitalized and able to raise funds in the capital markets. The 
functions of the Finance Board include the following:
    --prescribing rules and regulations governing the Bank System's 
capital, lending, financial management, and investment activities;
    --maintaining Bank System financial and membership databases and 
preparing reports on a regular basis;
    --overseeing the implementation of the community investment and 
affordable housing programs;
    --conducting a biennial review of each member's community support 
performance;
    --annually examining each Federal Home Loan Bank and the Office of 
Finance;
    --requiring an independent financial audit of each Bank, the Office 
of Finance, the Financing Corporation, and the Bank System;
    --appointing public interest directors to the board of directors of 
each Bank and establishing the rules by which the Banks elect the 
remaining directors; and
    --setting standards for the review and approval of applications for 
Bank membership.

Regional Banks

The System includes 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks, each of which 
is a Government-sponsored enterprise, owned by its members. Each Bank is 
managed by its board of directors, which is comprised of appointed 
public interest and elected industry directors. The Finance Board 
appoints the public interest directors, and the Banks conduct the 
election of the remaining directors.
Capital and Sources of Funds  The Banks' principal source of capital is 
stock, which members are required by law to purchase upon joining the 
Bank System. In accordance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which became 
law on November 12, 1999, the Finance Board has adopted regulations for 
a new risk-based capital structure for the Banks, which will replace the 
current capital structure upon implementation of each Bank's capital 
structure plan, which is to

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be developed by the Bank and approved by the Finance Board. The new 
capital structures are subject to possible transition periods of up to 3 
years. The Banks fund their lending and member asset acquisition 
activities through the issuance of Bank System consolidated obligations, 
which are the joint-and-several liability of all the Banks. Member 
deposits are an additional source of funds. Bank System consolidated 
debt is issued by the Federal Home Loan Banks through the Office of 
Finance, the Bank System's fiscal agent. The Banks' consolidated 
obligations are neither obligations of, nor guaranteed by, the United 
States.
Operations  The Banks' primary activity is extending secured loans 
(advances) to member institutions. Advances are generally collateralized 
by whole first mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities, as well as 
other high-quality assets. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, advances to 
community financial institutions may also be made to finance small 
businesses, small farms, and small agribusinesses, and advances to such 
members may be guaranteed by secured small business loans and 
agricultural loans.
    The Banks have established mortgage asset purchase programs to 
assist their members. These programs, such as the Mortgage Partnership 
Finance program developed by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, 
involve the investment by the Banks in mortgages they acquire from their 
members. Under these programs, members selling mortgages to the Banks 
continue to bear a significant portion of the credit risk.
    Under the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), the Banks provide 
subsidized advances or direct subsidies to Bank members engaged in 
lending for long-term owner-occupied and affordable rental housing 
targeted to households with very low, low, or moderate incomes. The 
program is financed from a specified percentage of each Bank's previous 
year's net income. The greater of $100 million or 10 percent of the 
previous year's net income is available for the program.
    Under the Community Investment Program (CIP), each Bank provides 
advances priced at the Bank's cost of consolidated obligations of 
comparable maturities plus reasonable administrative costs, to members 
engaged in community-oriented mortgage lending.

Financing Corporation

The Financing Corporation (FICO) was established by the Competitive 
Equality Banking Act of 1987 (12 U.S.C. 1441) with the sole purpose of 
issuing and servicing bonds, the proceeds of which were used to fund 
thrift resolutions. The Corporation has a three-member directorate, 
consisting of the Managing Director of the Office of Finance and two 
Federal Home Loan Bank presidents.
    The Financing Corporation operates subject to the regulatory 
authority of the Finance Board.

Sources of Information

Requests for information relating to human resources and procurement 
should be sent to the Office of Resource Management, at the address 
listed below.

For further information, contact the Executive Secretariat, Federal 
Housing Finance Board, 1777 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20006. Phone, 
202-408-2500. Fax, 202-408-2895. Internet, www.fhfb.gov.