Eligibility Requirements

Financial institutions applying for membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• The institution must be duly organized under U.S. or state law and subject to examination by a regulatory agency. Commercial bank and credit union applicants must be federally insured.
• The institution must have at least 10 percent of its total assets in residential mortgages. Community financial institutions (FDIC-insured depository institutions with average total assets over the last three years end of less than $1.029 billion for 2010) are exempt from this requirement. Non-depository CDFIs and insurance companies are also exempt from this requirement but must demonstrate a commitment to housing.
• The institution must originate or purchase first-lien residential loans with an original maturity of at least five years or purchase and hold mortgage-backed, pass-through securities (no CMOs or REMICs).
• The character of the institution's management and its home financing policy must be consistent with sound and economical home lending.
• The institution's financial condition must be such that the Seattle Bank can safely lend to it. The Seattle Bank considers an institution’s financial trends and sufficiency of eligible collateral. Applicants must have no material audit findings or enforcement actions in place.
• The institution must be headquartered in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam.