FHLB Of Seattle Still In TheRed

SEATTLE, - (12/26/05) – The Federal Home Loan Bank ofSeattle reported last week that its vast portfolio of mortgagesecurities is still under water to the tune of $400 million. TheSeattle Bank said the unrealized losses on its portfolio wasunchanged since September 30, which will continue to depressearnings. The Bank said net income for its fiscal third quarterended Nov. 30 was $14.3 million, down 15% for the same period lastyear. The Seattle banks said it continued its exit of the secondarymortgage market, selling off $1.4 billion of mortgages from itsMortgage Purchase Program in August, helping it to reduce itsmortgage portfolio to $7.6 billion at Sept. 30, down from $10.4billion at the end of 2004. The Seattle Bank is owned by its 370member financial institutions, including 50 creditunions.