Lawmakers on a House subcommittee last week approved by a wide bipartisan margin a bill that would create a legislative framework for a covered bond market in the U.S. and, some critics contend, an unnecessary competitor to the Federal Home Loan Bank system.

A large investment portfolio intended to generate added earnings is inconsistent with the purposes of the Federal Home Loan Bank System and is a "misuse" of the system's preferential access to capital markets, the head of the FHLB’s regulator told Bank directors this week. [Includes one data chart.]

The member advance business – the core product line for the Federal Home Loan Banks – continued to decline at the end of 2010, hitting a nine-year low. The 12 FHLBanks reported a total of $478.6 billion in outstanding advances at the end of last year, down 24.2 percent from the end of 2009. It was the lowest volume of... [Includes two data charts]

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle is making progress in light of its ongoing struggles in the mortgage market but significant challenges remain, according to a recent ratings announcement by Fitch Ratings. Last week, Fitch announced it has assigned long-term and short-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to the...

The advance business of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks continued to shrink again in the fourth quarter of 2010, dropping 24.2 percent from the previous year to $478.59 billion, according to preliminary figures released by the FHLBank Office of Finance. The decline came...[Includes one data chart]

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks all recorded significant declines in new debt issuance during 2010. The GSEs collectively issued $3.454 trillion in new debt during 2010, a decline of 25.3 percent from the previous year. New issuance effectively just replaced...[Includes one data chart]