In October, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reached a $3.6 million settlement with two former executives in its Washington, DC, office of legislative and regulatory affairs who claimed they were the victims of racial discrimination. There’s just one problem: Despite apparently reaching an agreement during mediation, the bank didn’t pay up.
Banks and thrifts racked up $571 billion of advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank system at the end of 2018, a 3.3% sequential gain but off 1.9% from a year ago, according to an analysis by Inside The GSEs. [Includes one data chart.]
Despite four years of effort by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, members of the Federal Home Loan Bank system have made only marginal improvements in diversity on their boards, according to a report released late last month by the Government Accountability Office.
The Federal Home Loans Banks’ combined net income for the fourth quarter fell to $791 million, an 8.7% decline from the fourth quarter of 2017. Year-over-year, net income rose slightly to $3.56 billion in 2018. But this apparent stability masked dramatic swings elsewhere on the income statement. [Includes one data chart.]
Stress tests of the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks went off without a hitch this year. But a closer look reveals varying performance among the banks in the event of a major economic downturn and their relative exposure to the risks measured by the tests.
The Federal Home Loan Bank System last week sold $4.0 billion in bonds with rates tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate. SOFR is the designated heir to the soon-to-be-retired London Interbank Offered Rate.