Congress Scrutinizes Home Loan Banks, Challenges Data Myths

Congress created the Federal Home Loan Bank System in 1932 to supply dependable liquidity for housing finance. Its 11 regional cooperatives provide collateralized advances to commercial banks, credit unions, insurers and community lenders, supporting mortgage credit and financial stability. Advances totaled $677 billion in 2025, making the system’s alignment with its public housing mission important as affordability pressures intensify.

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held the first dedicated FHLBank hearing in 15 years on July 21, 2026. Testimony challenged three related assumptions: that absence from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data means no lending, that origination counts capture all housing activity, and that direct originations alone define mission performance. HMDA reporting generally starts at 25 closed-end mortgages in each of two consecutive years. FHLBank Chicago found 22% to 34% of members actively selling mortgages through its program were missing from HMDA data.