FHLB Des Moines Highlights
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
FHLB Des
Moines will be closed on Monday,
January 19, 2009, in observance of
the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Due to the holiday, the bond market
will close at 1:00 PM CT on Friday,
January 16, 2009.
The market's early
closing impacts the Bank's product
availability and pricing; therefore,
the only advances we will be
offering after 1:00 PM CT on Friday,
January 16, will be Fed Funds
advances and repayments. Fed
Funds Advance requests may be made
through eAdvantage or by contacting
the Money Desk.
In addition, MPF
Delivery Commitments and Fundings
will close at 1:00 PM CT on Friday,
January 16, and will remain closed
Monday, January 19. Please be aware
that the MPF Customer Support Help
Desk will close at 3:00 PM CT on
Friday, January 16.
Wire transfers will
follow normal business hours on
Friday, January 16. The Bank will
resume normal business hours on
Tuesday, January 20, 2009. Please
contact the Money Desk at
800.544.3452, ext. 1013 with
questions.
Strengthening Communities
FHLB Des Moines
mailed a copy of Strengthening
Communities, our first Community
Investment newsletter, to members on
Thursday, January 8. This
publication features stories about
the communities and members in our
five-state district that have been
helped by our Community Investment
Programs. For more information about
these programs or any of the stories
in this issue, call 800.544.3452,
ext. 1173 or click on the “Community
Investment” menu item above. To read
a copy of our January issue, click
here.
FHLB Des Moines Awards
Minneapolis Advantage Program
$1.5 Million
Wells Fargo and the City of
Minneapolis get $1.5 million in
Affordable Housing Program grant
funds for the Minneapolis Advantage
program. Funds will help low income
households (less than 80% of area
median income) purchase foreclosed
homes. Click
here for media coverage.
Weekly Market Update
After a relentless
flattening move from mid-November
through the Christmas holiday, the
Treasury curve saw a decent
steepening the past week as the
front end posted minor gains while
the long end gave back part of its
recent rally. Click
here for additional market
commentary.
Access to
Affordable Housing Grant Writing
Training
FHLB Des Moines
annually provides millions of
dollars in grants for affordable
housing projects. The FHLB Des
Moines Community Investment
Department invites you to attend a
half-day training session that will
cover how to utilize a new web-based
Affordable Housing Program
application, essential
administrative issues and, most
importantly, successfully increasing
affordable housing in your
community. Registration is
complimentary and can be completed
online by clicking
here.
2009
Native American Homeownership
Initiative
Effective January 2, 2009, FHLB Des
Moines will allocate $1 million of
its annual Affordable Housing
Program contribution to members to
help eligible households purchase
single family owner-occupied
properties in Native American
Service Areas.
For
additional information, please visit
our
Native
American Homeownership Inititiative
page. If you have any questions
about the program, please contact
Evelyn
Bengtson
at 800.544.3452, ext. 1064.
Moratorium on Excess Stock
Repurchases
Over the
last three months the Federal Home
Loan Bank (FHLB) System has
experienced a substantial increase
in its wholesale funding costs due
to the unstable market conditions
and Federal Government initiatives
such as the Temporary Liquidity
Guarantee Program that have provided
explicit guarantees to private
commercial debt and thereby eroded
the funding advantages that
Government Sponsored Entities like
the FHLB System have historically
enjoyed. If these spread changes
continue for a significant duration,
the FHLB Des Moines’ earnings would
be severely compressed.
After careful consideration of this
risk, the current stressed economic
environment, and in recognition of
its cooperative nature and its
obligations to all members, the FHLB
Des Moines has placed a moratorium
on all excess stock purchases. While
the Bank has always had the
discretion to approve or deny excess
stock repurchase requests and has
regularly agreed to approve such
requests, the moratorium will ensure
that all members, large and small,
receive fair and consistent
treatment. Our decision also follows
prior related actions taken by other
FHLBs. Click
here
to read the entire announcement.
Member Products Policy
and Collateral Maintenance Level
Changes
FHLB Des
Moines is updating its Member
Products Policy (MPP) and Collateral
Maintenance Levels (CMLs).
Information communicating these
changes was mailed to all members on
December 17, 2008. Click
here
to view the letter, FAQ, CML chart
and VP of Member Services list from
the mailing as well as the revised
MPP.
Contact the VP of Member Services in
your region with questions.
Independent Director Election
Results
On December 11, 2008, the Board of
Directors of the Federal Home Loan
Bank of Des Moines certified the
results of the 2008 Independent
Director Election. Paula R. Meyer,
Principal of Paula R. Meyer
Consulting, and John F. Kennedy,
Sr., Senior Vice President and CFO
of St. Louis Equity Fund, Inc., were
both elected to four-year
independent directorship terms. Ms.
Meyer and Mr. Kennedy’s terms will
begin on January 1, 2009. Read
more about the Independent
Director Election results.
Notes:
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available free of charge to be
downloaded from the web.
If you have questions or comments
about this site, please email them
to the Home Loan Bank's
webmaster or
call the Communications Department
at 800.544.3452.
Copyright © 1998 - 2008 Federal Home
Loan Bank of Des Moines. All rights
reserved. This material is provided
as general information. The terms
and conditions related to the FHLB
Des Moines' products and services
are governed by various agreements
between the FHLB Des Moines and its
customers as well as certain FHLB
Des Moines policies and applicable
regulations. In the event of any
inconsistencies between this website
material and the agreements,
policies and regulations, the terms
of such agreements, policies and
regulations shall be determinative.
Only member institutions and certain
eligible financial institutions may
transact business with the Home Loan
Bank.
