The Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) is an independent agency of the United States Government, created by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 or FIRREA (pronounced "fur-EE-ah"). In the aftermath of the savings and loan crisis, the FHFB took over supervision of the Federal Home Loan Banks from the now-defunct Federal Home Loan Bank Board ("FHLBB"). (The Office of Thrift Supervision took over most other functions of the FHLBB.) On July 30, 2008, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 combined the FHFB and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) to form the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and will cease its existence one year later, on July 30, 2009.
The FHFB provided regulatory oversight of the nation's Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs). The twelve regional FHLBs are privately-held government sponsored enterprises that ensure the supply of funds to local lenders that, in turn, finance loans for home mortgages. The FHLBs are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Des Moines, Indianapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, and Topeka. Each bank serves a separate, non-overlapping district within the United States.