Members of Federal Home Loan Banks

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing to revise its regulations governing Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) membership primarily to: (1) require each applicant and member institution to hold one percent of its assets in “home mortgage loans” in order to satisfy the statutory requirement that an institution make long-term home mortgage loans; (2) require each member to comply on an ongoing basis, rather than on a one-time basis as at present, with the foregoing requirement and, where applicable, with the requirement that it have at least 10 percent of its assets in “residential mortgage loans”; (3) define the term “insurance company” to exclude from Bank membership captive insurers, but permit existing captive members to remain members for five years with certain restrictions on their ability to obtain advances; (4) require a Bank to obtain and review an insurance company’s audited financial statements when considering it for membership; and (5) clarify the standards by which an insurance company’s “principal place of business” is to be identified in determining the appropriate Bank district for membership.