Borrowings by members of the Federal Home Loan Bank System increased 25.8% in the first quarter driven by COVID-19-related volatility. On the other end, the FHLBanks reported a huge drop in combined earnings with the San Francisco FHLB incurring a first-quarter loss.

According to former Fannie Mae CFO Tim Howard, the re-proposed capital requirements are almost 40 times the average of that indicated by stress tests conducted on the GSEs last year.

The move suggests the GSEs’ public offerings — estimated by some to be worth as much as $200 billion — may take place in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.