Bank Notes

November 12, 2020 – This is an uncertain time and we’ve all been busy learning to navigate uncharted waters. While we remain physically distanced from you, with your Relationship and Collateral Asset Managers unable to visit in person, we’re looking for new and different ways to connect and lend value to your enterprise.

Welcome to Bank Notes, a new communications vehicle we will be using to share information and industry insights from a variety of perspectives around the Bank – including Collateral, Credit, and Member Financial Services – along with recent Bank news.

As you know, we have been operating successfully as a fully-remote workforce since March 16 – we are proud that we were the first in the FHLBank System to stand up remotely, thanks to our robust business continuity planning. I’m also happy to say there have been remarkably few bumps in the road as we’ve all adapted to a new normal: whether working from a home office or a kitchen table, your entire FHLBank team is committed to meeting your specific liquidity and funding needs and providing essential financial services so that you can continue serving your customers and communities.   

After an initial period of volatility related to the pandemic, government supports helped stabilize the financial markets. In the early days of the crisis and now, FHLBanks have been able to fulfill our essential role as a reliable source of liquidity in all economic cycles. Our access to the global capital markets remains strong and this Bank has been able to fund all member requests for advances and liquidity.

We know that we really don’t know what’s next. We’re not yet in the wake of this unprecedented global pandemic, but we can be sure that millions of Americans are at risk of devastating economic consequences, including evictions and foreclosures. We are proud to have a constructive role to play, through our members, in supplying resources for affordable housing and economic development that may help mitigate some of the damage.

In this time of both economic stresses and widespread mobilization around social justice issues, we are also proud that our Board of Directors increased funding for our 2020 AHEAD economic development grant program, from a planned $1.5 million to $3.5 million. With the additional allocation for AHEAD, along with our match funding for member charitable donations, we are able to provide support to struggling Black-owned small businesses and essential nonprofits, along with an array of initiatives aimed at making our communities more equitable.

We look forward to our continued partnership. Please reach out to your relationship manager or to me if there are other ways we can support you and your institution.

Sincerely,

Steve