The Federal Home Loan Banks are required to use 10% of their profits for their Affordable Housing Program, which makes grants to support affordable housing development. Though small in dollars, it is an important program that should be better targeted to be more aligned with housing needs.
For many years, the banks were required to direct 20% of their profits to pay of REFCorps bonds. Those payments were completed in July 2011. For the moment, the regulator is requiring the banks to use these funds to build up their capital reserves. Once that is done, the banks should be required to direct that 20% into the National Housing Trust Fund.
NLIHC supports:
- Requiring that 30% of Affordable Housing Program funds be targeted to extremely low income households.
- Requiring that the Federal Home Loan Banks direct 20% of their profits into the National Housing Trust Fund after they have reached required levels of reserves.
For more information, contact Elayne Weiss, Policy Analyst, at [email protected] or 202.662.1530 x243.