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FAQs

Q. Who are FHLBank Pittsburgh's member-owners?

A. The Bank has 333 shareholder-members across Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. They are community banks, savings and loans, credit unions and insurance companies. For a complete membership list, please click here.

Q. What is the relationship between the Bank and its members?

A. As a GSE, the Bank utilizes private capital for a public purpose - to ensure a steady stream of reliable credit for affordable housing, small business growth and other general economic and community development needs. This low-cost capital is channeled through member financial institutions. Not a single penny of taxpayer money is used in carrying out this mission.

Like its eleven counterparts, FHLBank Pittsburgh is a cooperative owned by its members, who are the sole users of its services. Bank stock is not publicly traded, and members are represented on the Bank's Board of Directors.

Q. How does the Bank raise money?

A. The FHLBanks are not agencies of any government. They are private member cooperatives. The primary source of funds for the Bank is the sale of debt securities known as consolidated obligations, issued through the System's Office of Finance to institutional investors in the capital markets.

Q. What are the key products and services of the Bank?

A. The heart of the Bank's product offerings is advances, or low-cost loans to members. Advance lending is the FHLBanks' main business line. Members use advances to support the mortgage lending, community investment and other credit needs of their customers.

In addition to advances, the Bank offers a growing variety of products and services. Among these are the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), Community Lending Program (CLP) and the purchase of residential mortgage loans from members, primarily through the Mortgage Partnership Finance^® (MPF^®) Program. Click here to review the key categories and descriptions of FHLBank Pittsburgh's offerings.

Q. What is the community impact of the Bank's products and services?

A. Access to Bank programs assists community institutions in making more loans and helps meet housing and community development needs. By providing readily available liquidity to its members, the FHLBank System allows local institutions to remain active lenders, in every economic cycle, to help their local economies grow.

Q. How does the Bank provide a consistent supply of low-cost credit?

A. High credit ratings allow the FHLBanks to provide funds to members at lower rates than available in the commercial marketplace and at small spreads over comparable Treasury instruments.

There are several reasons for the traditionally high credit quality of the FHLBanks. The System's Office of Finance has a fiscal agency agreement with the Federal Reserve Banks; interest on FHLBank debt securities is exempt from state and local income taxation; and the U.S. Treasury is authorized to purchase up to $4 billion of FHLBank debt.

Another key factor supporting high credit quality is joint and several liability, giving investors confidence that System debt will be paid.

Q. Where is the Pittsburgh Bank headquartered? How many employees does it have?

A. FHLBank Pittsburgh is located at 601 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-4455. It has approximately 232 full- and part-time employees. The main switchboard number is 412-288-3400 or 1-800-288-3400.

Q. Who are the key officers of the Bank?

A. Click here for their biographies.

Q. Who sits on the Board of Directors? How much independence does the Board have?

A. The Bank's Board of Directors discharges its responsibilities independent of management. Sessions are regularly held without management present; the Board retains its own consultants and advisors; and no member of management serves on the Board. In addition, the Bank's internal auditor reports directly to the Audit Committee of the Board rather than to management, and meets regularly without management present, to preserve the independence of the audit function. Click here for the biographies of our Directors.

Q. What are the current earnings of the Bank?

A. Click here for key financial data.

Q. How can I get a copy of the Bank's Annual Report?

A. Click here for the Bank's 2007 Annual Report.