Small commercial banks and the federal home loan bank system

摘要

Increased competition with the financial services industry has raised concerns about the abil- ity of small banks to adequately fund local rural development. To address these concerns. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 broadened small-bank access to Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) financing. Statistical analyses indicate that the following factors were significantly associated with the decisions of small banks headquartered in nonmetropolitan counties to obtain FHLB membership: bank size, affiliation with a bank holding company, exposure to inter- est rate risk, loan portfolio quality, liquidity pressure, dividend rates on FHLB stock, and bind- ing membership requirements related to residential real estate-related assets.