Battered by a low interest rate environment that severely depressed income from advances, the Federal Home Loan Banks watched their profits tumble to a six-year low in 2003. According to year-end numbers released by the FHLBanks’ Office of Finance, the 12 Banks collectively earned just $1.64 billion in net income last year. That was not only an 8.8 percent drop from 2002’s level, but also the lowest earnings posted since 1997, when the FHLBanks