Preparedness, Training, and Exercises This activity provides policy guidance, financial and technical assistance, training, and exercise support required to establish or enhance all-hazard, riskbased emergency management capabilities of Federal, State, and local governments. In addition, this activity maintains a family protection program, utilizing private sector and volunteer organizations to encourage and assist families and neighborhoods to take actions to increase their emergency preparedness capabilities.

Fire Prevention and Training This activity prepares Federal, State, and local officials, their staffs, emergency first responders, volunteer groups, and the public to meet the responsibilities of domestic emergencies through planning, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Educational programs are provided through the National Fire Academy at the National Emergency Training Center and through the field fire training delivery systems.

Operations Support This activity provides direct support and services which address the common needs of all agency programs, such as administration, acquisition, logistics, information systems, security, and specialized capabilities and integration of the FEMAwide networks.

Mitigation Programs This activity provides for the development, coordination, and implementation of policies, plans, and programs to eliminate or reduce the long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and dam failures. A goal of this activity is to encourage and foster mitigation strategies at the State and local levels. Information Technology Services This activity provides leadership and direction for management of information resources, ADP, telecommunications, and systems to accomplish the agency's mission. It provides direct support and services to FEMA's all-hazards

emergency management program of mitigation, preparedness, and response and recovery.

Freedom of Information Act Requests

Office of General Counsel. Phone, 202646-3840.

The Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board) was established on August 9, 1989, by the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, as amended by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) (12 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.), as an independent regulatory agency in the executive branch. The Finance Board succeeded the Federal Home Loan Bank Board for those functions transferred to it by FIRREA.

The Finance Board is governed by a five-member Board of Directors. Four members are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for 7-year terms; one of the four is designated as Chairman. The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is the fifth member and serves in an ex officio capacity.

The Finance Board supervises the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks created in 1932 by the Federal Home Loan Bank

Act and issues regulations and orders for carrying out the purposes of the provisions of that act. Savings associations, commercial banks, savings banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and other institutions specified in section 4 of the act that make long-term home-mortgage loans are eligible to become members of the Federal Home Loan Bank. The Finance Board supervises the Federal Home Loan Banks and ensures that they carry out their housing finance mission, remain adequately capitalized and able to raise funds in the capital markets, and operate in a safe and sound manner. The functions of the Finance Board include:

-prescribing rules and conditions under which the Banks may lend to members and eligible nonmembers; -issuing policies governing the Bank System's financial management and investment activities;

-maintaining Bank System financial and membership data bases and preparing reports on a regular basis; -overseeing the implementation of the community investment and affordable housing programs; -conducting a biennial review of each member's community support performance;

-issuing consolidated Federal Home Loan Bank obligations which are joint and several obligations of all Federal Home Loan Banks;

-annually examining each Federal Home Loan Bank;

-requiring an independent financial audit of each Bank, the Office of Finance, the Financing Corporation, and the Bank System;

-appointing six directors to the board of directors of each Bank and conducting the election of the remaining directors by the members; and

-setting standards for the review and approval of applications for Bank membership.

The Finance Board is not subject to the appropriation process. Its funds are neither appropriated nor derived from Government funds, and are not subject to apportionment. The expenses of the Finance Board are paid by assessment

against the regional Federal Home Loan Banks.

Regional Banks

The System includes 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks that are mixedownership Government corporations. A board of directors, six of whom are appointed by the Finance Board, manages the Banks. The Finance Board conducts the election of the remaining directors.

Capital and Sources of Funds The Banks' principal source of capital is stock, which members are required by law to purchase upon joining the Bank System, and which is redeemed upon a member's withdrawal from the System. The Banks fund their lending activity through the issuance of Bank System consolidated obligations, which are the joint and several liability of all the Banks. Member deposits are an additional source of funds. Bank System consolidated debt is issued by the Finance Board through the Office of Finance, the Bank System's fiscal agent. The Banks' consolidated obligations are neither obligations of, nor guaranteed by, the United States.

Operations The Banks' primary activity is extending secured loans (advances) to member institutions. Advances are generally collateralized by whole first mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities, as well as other high-quality assets. In making advances, the Bank System serves as a source of short- and long-term funds for institutions operating in the mortgage markets as originators and holders of mortgage assets. Because the Bank System does not set standards for the loans its members make, members have the flexibility to develop responsive credit products and underwriting standards. The Banks also enter into hedging transactions as intermediaries with their members, which assists the members with their asset-liability management.

Under the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), the Banks provide subsidized advances or direct subsidies to Bank members engaged in lending for long-term owner-occupied and

affordable rental housing targeted to households with very low, low, or moderate incomes. This competitive program is financed from a specified percentage of each Bank's previous year's net income. The greater of $100 million or 10 percent of the previous year's net income is available for the program.

Under the Community Investment Program (CIP), each Bank provides advances priced at the Bank's cost of consolidated obligations of comparable maturities plus reasonable administrative costs, to members engaged in

community-oriented mortgage lending. Advances are used for loans to finance rental and owner-occupied housing for families whose incomes do not exceed 115 percent of area median income and commercial and economic development activities that benefit low- and moderateincome families or that are located in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

To maintain access to long-term advances, Bank members must establish reasonable commitments to residential lending and community support activities. Every 2 years, the Finance Board reviews the community support performance of each member by taking into account factors such as each

member's Community Reinvestment Act performance and its lending to first-time homebuyers. The Banks provide technical assistance to their members in meeting the community support standards.

Financing Corporation

The Financing Corporation (FICO) was established by the Competitive Equality Banking Act of 1987 (12 U.S.C. 1441) with the sole purpose of issuing and servicing bonds, the proceeds of which were used to fund thrift resolutions. The principal on the bonds was defeased with capital contributions from the Banks. The Corporation has a threemember directorate, consisting of the Managing Director of the Office of Finance and two Federal Home Loan Bank presidents.

The Financing Corporation operates subject to the regulatory authority of the Federal Housing Finance Board.

Sources of Information

Requests for information relating to human resources and procurement should be sent to the Office of Resource Management, at the address listed below.