|
Government Relations | Events « Events Archives »
Events Archives
Conners Testifies at FHLBank Oversight Hearing
 |
| Connors testifies
before House Capital Markets Subcommittee |
WASHINGTON, DC, March 9, 2005 — The House Capital
Markets Subcommittee held a hearing on the FHLBanks
and government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) reform. The
first panel was Federal Housing Finance Board Chairman
Ronald Rosenfeld. The second panel comprised Dave Hehman,
president of the FHLBank of Cincinnati who was representing
the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks; Joseph F. Conners,
executive vice president and chief financial officer
of Beneficial Mutual Savings Bank; and two other FHLBank
members from Virginia and Massachusetts. The hearing
was generally a very positive one for the FHLBanks,
with several subcommittee members expressing support
for the FHLBank System.
Conners' testimony covered the role the FHLBank of
Pittsburgh plays in supporting Beneficial's ability
to serve its customers and community at large. He also
articulated a number of points for Congress to consider
as it moved forward on the legislation. These points
included:
- The safety and soundness regulator of the FHLBanks
should have the appropriate regulatory tools to ensure
safety and soundness and should also have the flexibility
to allow the FHLBanks to develop new products over
time to respond to future member needs.
- Legislation should not impede the ability of the
FHLBanks to access capital markets, or cause the cost
of FHLBank borrowing to increase.
- The unique nature of the FHLBank System, with twelve
independently operated cooperatives, must be preserved
in any new regulatory structure. It is also important
that Congress ensure that the SEC recognizes these
unique features as the FHLBanks register with the
SEC.
|
|
