Federal Home Loan Bank mission programs generated an estimated $47.1 billion in economic impact between 2015 and 2024, although that figure could be as high as $94.8 billion, according to a new report by the Urban Institute.
Researchers at the nonprofit organization studied FHLB targeted mission activities that support affordable housing and community development — the Affordable Housing Program, the Community Investment Program, the Community Investment Cash Advance program, the Acquired Member Asset program, and voluntary initiatives. In recent years, FHLB contributions to these programs have increased as a percentage of the FHLB’s net earnings, they said.
The researchers estimated that targeted mission activities generated an economic impact ranging from $16.5 billion to $94.8 billion under conservative and high-end scenarios. They settled on an estimated $47.1 billion in economic impact using base-case assumptions.
“Although these FHLBank contributions cannot single-handedly solve the affordable housing shortage, they represent a meaningful contribution to the broader affordable housing finance ecosystem,” they said.
