A coalition of housing advocates is calling on the Federal Home Loan Bank system to return to its original purpose — lending to support housing.
Members of the Coalition for Federal Home Loan Bank Reform argue that the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system has strayed significantly from its housing mission, prioritizing profits over affordable housing development. In a new Shelterforce article, authors Sharon Cornelissen, Jared Gaby-Biegel, and Brian Stromberg of the Coalition for FHLB Reform detail how the system's public subsidies ($7.3 billion in 2024) primarily benefit large financial institutions rather than supporting housing initiatives.
“Federal Home Loan Banks have gone astray. But they could once again return to their housing mission,” write the authors, pointing to a troubling shift in the system's priorities. The analysis reveals that while the FHLB system paid $3.4 billion in dividends to member banks in 2023, only $752 million was allocated to affordable housing programs.
The authors highlight a stark example of this mission drift: advances to companies with “little discernible link to housing,” like insurance companies. One such company is Athene Annuity. “Athene had $11.9 billion in outstanding advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines through June 2024.” Such practices raise questions about the system's current priorities, especially given that as of 2022, 42 percent of FHLB members hadn't originated a single mortgage in the past five years.
The Coalition for FHLB Reform proposes several reforms:
- Tie FHLB membership to concrete housing and community development activities
- Increase affordable housing contributions from 10% to 20% of net income
- Expand access for community development financial institutions
- Support innovative models like shared-equity homeownership
“Millions of Americans, many of them Black, Latino and/or of younger generations, feel they may never own a home," they note. “We can no longer allow this trillion-dollar GSE to sit on its hands, while housing costs continue to rise.”
These recommendations align with recent calls for reform from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Treasury, and members of Congress.
[RELATED ARTICLE: Blockbusting the Big Boys: Bill Would Ban Hedge Funds from Owning Single-Family Homes]
FULL STORY: The Government-Sponsored Enterprise that Turned Away from Its Housing Mission
Limited Housing Supply Correlated with Higher Rates of Gentrification
For insights into the gentrification of U.S. urban areas, researchers studied high-income buyers of housing in lower-income neighborhoods. To slow gentrification, the housing supply must be boosted, say the researchers.
Interactive Maps Explore Barriers to Opportunity
A pair of interactive maps and a report compare access to opportunity in two very different neighborhoods. In both places, residents confront "friction of distance" and feel their input on public decision-making is limited.
More Fallout on Affordable Housing from Tax Bill
While the low income housing tax credit was retained, banks will be much less willing to purchase them due to their reduced corporate tax rate. That's just one way H.R. 1 will exacerbate divisions between the rich and poor in America's cities.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.
A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.
Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions