Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt told a gathering of the American Mortgage Conference he supports the merger of Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) but wants to gather more information before giving required approval, and is currently offering a consultative role to FHLBs in Seattle and Des Moines that want to merge. According to nationalmortgagenews.com, he said, “We believe the merger will make a stronger Federal Home Loan Bank, which will make for a stronger FHLB system. It is conceivable that we will be setting the benchmarks and precedents for potential future mergers of Federal Home Loan banks,” Watt added. “We are very much involved in the process. We are watching them, but we’re not dictating the terms…. We are very protective of the system because it serves a very useful purpose.”MHProNews understands the FHLB is the largest collective source of home mortgage and community credit in the United States. Divided into 12 regions, it offers low-cost lending, but only for institutions who provide loans for mortgages, small business, rural, agricultural, and economic development. ##
