Background Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Background Information

Background Information

The Bank, a federally chartered corporation, is one of 11 district Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks). The FHLBanks are government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that serve the public by increasing the availability of credit for residential mortgages and community development. The Bank provides a readily available, low-cost source of funds to its member institutions. The Bank is a cooperative, which means that current members own nearly all of the outstanding capital stock of the Bank. All holders of the Bank’s capital stock may, to the extent declared by the Board, receive dividends on their capital stock. Regulated financial depositories and insurance companies engaged in residential housing finance that maintain their principal place of business (as defined by Finance Agency regulation) in Delaware, Pennsylvania or West Virginia may apply for membership. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) which meet membership regulation standards are also eligible to become Bank members. State and local housing associates that meet certain statutory and regulatory criteria may also borrow from the Bank. While eligible to borrow, state and local housing associates are not members of the Bank and, as such, do not hold capital stock.

All members must purchase capital stock in the Bank. The amount of capital stock a member owns is based on membership requirements (membership asset value) and activity requirements (i.e., outstanding advances, letters of credit, and the principal balance of certain residential mortgage loans sold to the Bank). The Bank considers those members with capital stock outstanding in excess of 10% of total capital stock outstanding to be related parties. See Note 8 - Transactions with Related Parties for additional information.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (Finance Agency) is the independent regulator of the FHLBanks. The mission of the Finance Agency is to ensure the FHLBanks operate in a safe and sound manner so they serve as a reliable source for liquidity and funding for housing finance and community investment. Each FHLBank operates as a separate entity with its own management, employees and board of directors. The Bank does not consolidate any off-balance sheet special-purpose entities or other conduits.

As provided by the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (FHLBank Act) or Finance Agency regulation, the Bank’s debt instruments, referred to as consolidated obligations, are joint and several obligations of all the FHLBanks and are the primary source of funds for the FHLBanks. These funds are primarily used to provide advances, purchase mortgages from members through the MPF® Program and purchase certain investments. See Note 6 - Consolidated Obligations for additional information. The Office of Finance (OF) is a joint office of the FHLBanks established to facilitate the issuance and servicing of the consolidated obligations of the FHLBanks and to prepare the combined quarterly and annual financial reports of all the FHLBanks. Deposits, other borrowings, and capital stock issued to members provide other funds. The Bank primarily invests these funds in short-term investments to provide liquidity. The Bank also provides member institutions with correspondent services, such as wire transfer, safekeeping and settlement with the Federal Reserve.

The accounting and financial reporting policies of the Bank conform to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Preparation of the unaudited financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, as well as the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of income and expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates. In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments have been included for a fair statement of this interim financial information. These unaudited financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 included in the Bank's 2019 Form 10-K.