The FHLBanks provide liquidity to members through Acquired Member Asset (AMA) programs, which allow participating FHLBanks to purchase eligible mortgage assets from member institutions.
Currently, the FHLBank System operates three AMA programs:
- The Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) Program, administered by the FHLBank Chicago and operating across six FHLBanks;
- The Mortgage Purchase Programs (MPP), operated by FHLBanks Cincinnati and Indianapolis
- The Mortgage Asset Program (MAP), operated by FHLBank New York.
FHFA’s AMA regulations permit FHLBanks to acquire eligible member assets, typically residential 1-4 single family mortgage loans, as a means of supporting housing finance and mortgage market liquidity. The regulations establish eligibility requirements and require participating members to provide credit enhancement that may take the form of collateralization, credit risk-sharing agreements, or other structures. Members that participate in these programs may receive compensation for assuming a portion of the credit risk and benefit from strong loan performance. Mortgage assets acquired through AMA programs are retained on the balance sheet of the participating FHLBanks.
The principal benefits of the AMA programs to participating members include the ability to:
- Sell mortgage loans and receive funding that can be redeployed into new lending activities;
- Reduce exposure to interest rate risk associated with holding long-term mortgage assets on their balance sheets;
- Transfer some or all prepayment and credit risk;
- Retain servicing income and maintain connection borrowers;
- Receive compensation for assuming specified credit enhancement obligations;
- Improve balance sheet management and capital efficiency; and
- Enhance overall financial performance through competitive mortgage asset execution.
AMA programs provide a substantial benefit to small and mid-sized mortgage originators by reducing operating complexity, minimizing hedging requirements, and offering efficient access to the secondary market, which allows them to be competitive with larger market participants.
In addition to mortgage assets acquired and retained on FHLBank balance sheets, the MPF Program also offers products through which participating members may sell mortgage loans for subsequent delivery into the secondary mortgage market, typically to Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae or private label securitization programs. While these transactions are technically not AMA purchases because loans are not retained by an FHLBank, they provide members with an additional source of liquidity and many of the same benefits associated with AMA programs. These products can also provide an alternative outlet for mortgage production when FHLBank balance-sheet capacity, concentration limits, or other operational considerations affect the availability of traditional AMA executions.
By the Numbers
In 2025, the FHLBanks purchased roughly $18 billion of mortgage assets (more than 51,000 loans) from participating members, and held a total of $79 billion in mortgage assets at the end of the year. Between 2009 and 2024, FHLBanks purchased 858,103 loans through the AMA programs, according to research by the Urban Institute.
