The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta said Wednesday that it will not pay members a dividend for the fourth quarter in light of the continued market turmoil.
The bank said this month that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 39.2%, to $74.6 million. Suspending dividends allows the bank to build its capital base. "The bank recognizes the value our dividend provides to member financial institutions, and we are working diligently to provide a return on our members' capital stock," Richard Dorfman, its president and chief executive, said Wednesday.
The situation is apparently not so severe as to warrant an end to excess-stock redemptions, as other Home Loan banks have done recently. The Atlanta bank will repurchase 50% of excess stock that was outstanding on March 16.
Also Wednesday, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati said it gained the $1.2 billion Motorists Mutual Insurance Co. as a new member. The addition gives the Cincinnati Home Loan bank 21 insurance companies as members.
