FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK ACT HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY SEVENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H. R. 5535 Superseded by H. R. 6971 TO AMEND THE FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK ACT, HOME NATIONAL HOUSING ACT, AND FOR APRIL 25, 26, 27, MAY 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking and Currency наврячких CONTENTS John H. Fahey, Chairman, Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Fred W. Catlett, member, Federal Home Loan Bank Board.. Morton Bodfish, executive vice president, United States Building & Loan League, 333 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill... P. R. Williams, Los Angeles, Calif., president, savings division, Ameri- Philip A. Benson, Brooklyn, N. Y., president, American Bankers' William R. White, superintendent of banks of the State of New York.. Frank P. Powers, president, State Bankers Association of Minnesota. A. George Gilman, Malden, Mass., chairman on Federal legislation, John H. Fahey, Chairman, Federal Home Loan Bank Board.. A. L. M. Wiggins, Hartsville, S. C., chairman, committee on Federal legislation, American Bankers' Association... John H. Fahey, letter and proposed amendment. John W. Hanes, Acting Secretary of the Treasury. Marriner S. Eccles, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal III AMENDMENTS OF 1939 TO FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK ACT TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1939 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, Washington, D. C. The committee met at 10:30 a. m., Hon. Henry B. Steagall (chairman), presiding. Members present: Messrs. Steagall, Williams, Spence, Ford, Brown, Barry, Sacks, Gore, Mills, Folger, Monroney, Wolcott, Gifford, Luce, Crawford, Gamble, Simpson, and Kean. The CHAIRMAN. All right, gentlemen, the committee will come to order. We have today, H. R. 5535, to amend the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933, title IV of the National Housing Act, and for other purposes; and Mr. Fahey, the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, is with us to discuss this bill. I am going to ask that Mr. Fahey be permitted to conclude his preliminary statement, after which he will be glad to answer inquiries by members of the committee, and will be prepared to attend the sessions of the committee as long as it may be found desirable. You may proceed, Mr. Fahey. STATEMENT OF JOHN H. FAHEY, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK BOARD Mr. FAHEY. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, if it is agreeable with the committee, I think it will conserve your time and perhaps help in the consideration of this legislation, if the suggestion of the chairman is adopted. H. R. 5535, which is before you, represents a series of perfecting amendments to existing laws governing the activities of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board offered after careful study and more than 6 years' experience. The purpose of these amendments is to strengthen the System and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and increase their usefulness to the millions of small savers whose money is entrusted to the thrift institutions of the country, which in turn supply a large proportion of the funds used to build our homes. The Members of the House who were acting on this committee at the time, and who had such an important part in the enactment of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, will recall the circumstances under which the 12 regional banks of the System came into exist |