To our members and partners:

Over the past several months, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has engaged in a coast-to-coast, comprehensive “ FHLBanks at 100: Focus on the Future” review of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. The listening tour sought input from stakeholders to examine how FHLBanks serve our mission to provide liquidity to our members, membership eligibility requirements, operational efficiencies, our role in addressing housing finance, community and economic development, affordability, rural and financially vulnerable communities, and other related issues.

As it wraps-up the review, the FHFA is offering opportunities for your valued feedback. These will be the final chance to impact potential recommended changes and provide support for the FHLBank Chicago products and programs that are important to you and your communities. The concluding listening sessions will be held March 22-24, 2023; we encourage you to register if you are able to provide a five minute statement in person or virtually. If you have limited time and have not done so already, we strongly encourage you to submit comments by visiting the FHFA’s website and selecting “FHLBank System at 100: Focusing on the Future (2023)” from the dropdown menu at the top of the page. The comment period was extended and now closes on March 31, 2023.

Comments due March 31

In-person in Washington D.C. - March 22 | Virtual - March 23-24

This is an opportunity for you to reflect on the comments provided during previous listening sessions and roundtables that could impact you, your customers, and the communities that you serve.

We ask you to consider the following questions when reflecting on our mission and the support we provide through our core products; advances, letters of credit, Mortgage Partnership Finance^® (MPF^®), and our Community Investment programs including the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), Downpayment Plus Program^® (DPP^®), and our Community First^® Programs like the Accelerate Grants for Small Business, the Housing Counseling Resource Program, and the Diverse Developer Initiative:

• What inspired you to become a member of FHLBank Chicago?
• How does your institution use FHLBank Chicago products, programs, and solutions and what value does that provide in a variety of economic cycles?
• What is the impact FHLBank Chicago products and programs have on your ability to serve your customers and communities?
• What would the consequence of reduced access to liquidity products or availability of affordable housing and economic development programs have on your institution, customers, and community?
• Outside of our core products, have other resources such as our broad array of geographically dispersed events, objective, and quantitative analysis from our Strategy and Solutions team, the cooperative nature of our organization, opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing, or other examples helped you serve your customers and communities?
  

You can view FHLBank Chicago member comments from the Listening Sessions, a recent BankThink editorial from Ryan Donovan in American Banker, as well as read hundreds of comment letters submitted to the FHFA for inspiration. Reach out to your Sales Director with any questions or comments.

As we approach our centennial, we look forward to continued support of our members in Illinois and Wisconsin with products, programs and solutions that fulfill our mission to provide our members liquidity through all economic cycles and provide meaningful support for your housing finance and economic development needs.

Best Regards,

Michael Ericson
President and CEO