US Federal Home Loan Banks Release 2021 Data

The 11 regional banks that comprise the US Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) system each released in February 2022 their unaudited financial results for year-end 2021. Among letter of credit-related figures highlighted by individual banks, FHLBank Chicago reported that its LC commitments decreased 31% to USD 11.3 billion at year-end 2021, down from USD 16.4 billion at year-end 2020, “primarily due to one of our former captive insurance company members reducing its letters of credit usage in connection with its membership termination in the first quarter of 2021.”

FHLBank Cincinnati announced a USD 5.8 billion increase in LC balances for 2021, primarily due to its members using LCs “to secure elevated levels of public unit deposits.” FHLBank Pittsburgh’s highlights for 2021 included letters of credit at USD 19.4 billion (for 2020, LCs were USD 19.7 billion).