Cortez Masto Calls on Federal Housing Finance Agency Director to Provide Update on Federal Home Loan Bank Improvements

Senator Cortez Masto was critical in securing the publication of the Federal Home Loan Bank report in 2023, and in her letter she calls on Director Pulte to provide public updates on the status of new FHLB initiatives

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) sent a letter to William Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), urging him to publicly commit to ensuring that the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) System delivers on its promises to help build new homes, lower housing costs, and invest in communities across the country.

"In your role as FHFA Director, you have expansive authority to ensure our nation's government sponsored enterprises [including the FHLB system] provide financing to developers building and managing homes and apartments, people buying and renovating homes, and local governments providing the infrastructure for housing and community economic development," said Senator Cortez Masto.

Senator Cortez Masto has focused on reforming the Federal Home Loan Banks and ensuring Nevada gets its fair share of funding. Following a 2022 letter Senator Cortez Masto sent to then-FHFA Director Sandra Thompson, the FHFA announced a review of the Federal Home Loan Bank system. Following that review, the FHFA released a comprehensive report in 2023 calling for mission-focused reform of the FHLBanks. In her letter to Director Pulte, Cortez Masto asked the FHFA to provide updates on a number of initiatives identified in the 2023 report, including:

• The FHLB System's progress on improving credit risk management;
• The FHFA's discussions with the FHLBs regarding the need for executive compensation to reflect mission achievement;
• The status of work between the FHFA, FHLBs, and relevant federal regulators to improve the timely exchange of information; and
• How the FHLB System is working to better achieve its mission of providing affordable housing and community development financing across the country.

"Under your leadership, does the FHFA remain committed to the above initiatives to improve the FHLB System and increase access to housing production, homeownership and economic development," she also asked.

She concluded by reiterating that Director Pulte must stand up to his end of the bargain and deliver on reforms to make sure the FHLB system truly works for the American people, saying, "in your role as Director of the FHFA you must ensure that the FHLB System helps build new homes, lowers housing costs, and invests in communities across the country."

Full text of the letter is available here.

Senator Cortez Masto has been a leader working to push the FHLB System to help lower costs and build more housing supply. This year she secured a $15 million investment from the FHLBank of San Francisco to support the single-family bond program in Nevada, and last year she secured $9.4 million from the bank's competitive affordable housing fund - almost twice as much as Nevada received the year before. She's also pushing to reform the FHLB system as a whole. In April, Cortez Masto introduced the Federal Home Loan Banks' Mission Implementation Act, which would ensure the FHLBanks are re-focused on their mission to support housing finance and community development.

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