Home Loan Bank System Posts 3Q Loss

The 12 Federal Home Loan banks posted a net loss of $165 million during the third quarter, the system's Office of Finance said Friday.

That overall third-quarter figure included a combined $473 million loss at the Home Loan banks in Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Seattle. The Chicago bank's $150 million loss was the system's largest, followed by a $105 million loss in Boston, $93 million in Seattle, $85 million in San Francisco and $40 million in Pittsburgh.

Those losses were primarily driven by other-than-temporary impairment charges levied against portfolios of private-label mortgage-backed securities.

The losses were offset by earnings at the Home Loan Banks in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Des Moines, Indianapolis, New York and Topeka. The New York Home Loan bank's $140 million in quarterly net income was the system's largest followed by $61 million in Cincinnati, $35 million in Des Moines and $25 million in Topeka.

The system continues to lose business from advances. Overall, advances fell 27% in the first nine months of 2009, to $678 billion.

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