The advance business for the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks increased by fits and starts throughout 2012 but ended the year ahead on both a quarterly and annual basis, according to preliminary figures released by the Federal Home Loan Bank Office of Finance. Advances increased 3.3 percent to $425.8 billion during the fourth quarter of 2012 while posting a smaller 1.8 percent increase from $418.2 billion a year earlier. “The demand for advances has shown some signs of regional stabilization and certain FHLBank members increased their use of advances,” said the OF.