"Allocate more profits to the AHP program," said Joshua Yurek, director of government affairs at the Midwest Housing Equity Group, a nonprofit in Topeka, Kansas. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced a bill that would have doubled the banks' investments in affordable housing to 20% of their net income, up from the current 10% mandate. Some lawmakers also have called for the banks' affordable housing mandate to be raised. Membership of the bank is set by statute and any change would have to be approved by Congress, Pigg said.
"We certainly agree and recognize that more needs to be done by the Home Loan banks and banks generally in addressing the problem of affordable housing," Pigg said. His view was echoed by Joseph Pigg, senior vice president and general counsel at American Bankers Association, who said the Home Loan banks are "working as intended and designed." "ICBA would oppose any changes to permit nondepositories to access the system," Haynie said. Ron Haynie, senior vice president of housing finance policy at the Independent Community Bankers of America, urged the FHFA to "do no harm" to the Home Loan banks by making changes. "New classes of members would increase FHLB advances and earnings," Broeksmit said, noting that mortgage banks are state-licensed and adhere to liquidity requirements set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.īut bankers generally oppose allowing nonbanks into the system. Isaac, the former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., that the FHFA create an advisory committee of outside experts to explore ways to modernize the banks.īob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, called for independent mortgage bankers to be allowed in as members since nonbanks have supplanted banks in the past decade and now originate the vast majority of home loans. Daniel Tarullo, who has called for more oversight of the 11 regional banks, claiming they have expanded beyond their mission of supporting housing and into activities that pose risks.Ĭornelius Hurley, an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law and a former independent director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, first suggested in an opinion piece in American Banker, written with William M. The Federal Home Loan banks have come under harsh criticism in the past year by critics including former Federal Reserve Gov. "The FHLBs' priority is to remain in the good graces of FHFA, which can discourage innovation," Miller added. Reporting requirements for the AHP program are onerous, Miller said, and the amount of money provided for housing projects has not kept pace with construction costs and typically averages just 5% of a development's costs. "The level of investment of the AHP program is not impacting affordable housing efforts," said Marty Miller, executive director of the Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing in Yakima, Washington. In 2021, the Home Loan banks provided $352 million to the program, which some experts said was a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed. Over the three-and-a-half-hour session, many of the nearly three dozen speakers criticized the banks' Affordable Housing Program, or AHP.
But many other housing experts said far more needs to be done to address the affordable housing crisis. "We're here to map the future of the banks, not to announce it."īank trade groups and some Home Loan bank members suggested that the system is working well and that nothing should change. "No decisions have been made," Thompson added.
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