September 11, 2024 –A short hiatus – end of summer and a lot of FHLB happenings. It has been some three weeks.
I was and still am dumbfounded.
Three times (by the FHFA, by an esteemed group of US Senators ((the FHFA is esteemed as well)), and then the US Treasury) the FHLBs were asked to do more. The answer, not us!
Sounds biblical.
Oh well. Alas! A self-proclaimed critical player in mortgage housing finance, during a time of crisis, chooses to hide under the rock – nothing new here.
But you are not listening. We KNOW you can do more. CEOs identified the issues as technical, and the Chairs of the Boards sailed well awry (concerningly so) of the mark.
I think they think they are right – the CEOs and the Chairs of the Board. A governance issue to be sure– but not for today.
In 2023 the FHLBs made $7.5 billion, paid $3.5 billion of dividends to their members, and did not know what to do the remaining $3 billion – so they put it on the table and counted it – several times, and rubbed their hands together. No direct reference -but indirectly one is a duck – the other lives in Springfield and owns a nuclear power plant.
A governance issue – again!
Perhaps, obfuscation is a required segment of the DNA – even a whole chromosome. I will dig in, though many previous blog posts allude to the issue – time to dig deeper. I don’t think the reason for being, net net, holds water – not without more money invested in affordable housing and community development.
We’ll see.