FHLB Funds CU Mortgages For KatrinaRefugees

MEMPHIS - (06/28/06) – Three local credit unionsreceived $300,000 in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank ofCincinnati to help fund home loans for last year’s refugeesfrom hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, the Cincinnati Bankannounced Tuesday. The funds were awarded under the FHLB’sNew Neighbors Program and will be used to provide $20,000 grants sothat people who lost their homes due to the massive storms can makea down payment and pay closing costs on a new home, with the pricenot to exceed $175,000. The Bank awarded Memphis Area Teachers CUeight grants for a total of $160,000; ORNL FCU, Oak Ridge, Tenn.,four grants for $80,000 and Southeast Financial FCU, Brentwood,Tenn., three grants for $60,000. The three communities allexperienced large influxes of refugees from last year’shurricanes, with as many as 25,000 people moving to the Memphisarea. The Cincinnati Bank had planned to award a total of $15million in New Neighbors grants over two years, but cut the amountto $3 million because of a pending rule that would raise theretained earnings requirement for each of the 12 FHLBs. TheCincinnati Bank has 739 members in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee,including 96 credit unions, one of the biggest credit unionmemberships of all the FHLBs.