Leveraging Innovative Lending Solutions
FHLBank Chicago provides our members with the funding they seek to help build businesses, generate jobs, help people acquire homes, and enhance their viability and stability as engines of community advancement. Our financial products help our members manage their balance sheets, support housing and community development, and make borrowing easier and more affordable.
Lending Products
Learn more about how our lending products support our members' funding and liquidity needs.
Advances
The primary way we provide funding to our members is through secured loans, known as advances. Our members use advances, such as fixed-rate or variable-rate advances and other specialty advance products, to support their funding needs while optimizing liquidity to fund lending in their communities.
- Fixed Rate Advances – Secure, stable, and reliable funding with locked-in interest rates.
- Floating Rate Advances – Floating rate loans that help manage interest-rate risk.
- Hybrid Rate Advances – Flexible, customizable funding for asset liability management or hedging needs.
Community Advance
Responding to member feedback, FHLBank Chicago has combined multiple products into one, our new Community Advance, for flexible ease of use, improved application approval experience, and enhanced community building benefits.
The Community Advance offers an improved process for application and approval as well as product improvements to eligibility, pricing, and requirements. Benefits include:
- Online application and approval process will minimize time to apply, confirm eligibility, and receive approval within minutes.
- Streamlined documentation, including upfront certifications.
- Expanded eligibility including new financing vehicles – mortgage-backed securities, mortgage revenue bonds, and low-income housing tax credits; loan originations to or purchase of loans from non-depository CDFIs and nonprofit mortgage originators; all eligible small businesses qualify – no AMI limit.
- Improved pricing through tiered discounts of up to 200bps based on financing type or underlying activity supported such as housing construction and rehabilitation loans, and funding for non-depository CDFI and nonprofit mortgage originators.
- No match funding requirements
- Both floating and fixed rate advances available
Mortgage Partnership Finance Program
Our Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) Program provides community lenders with a competitive secondary mortgage market investor to sell their fixed-rate residential mortgage loans. The MPF Program incentivizes sustainable homeownership by paying members to share in the risk of default while relieving them of the interest rate risk on those loans.
Learn MoreLetters of Credit
FHLBank Chicago’s letters of credit enable our members to leverage our excellent credit rating at a competitive price to support liquidity, asset liability management, and to facilitate residential housing finance and community lending activities. Letters of credit are issued to guarantee payment or performance on behalf of our members to third parties.
Learn MoreCommunity First Fund
The Community First Fund is a revolving loan fund that provides unsecured lending to community organizations, including non-depository community development financial institutions (CDFIs), to support their affordable housing and community development lending in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Learn MoreAdvances
The primary way we provide funding to our members is through secured loans, known as advances. Our members use advances, such as fixed-rate or variable-rate advances and other specialty advance products, to support their funding needs while optimizing liquidity to fund lending in their communities.
- Fixed Rate Advances – Secure, stable, and reliable funding with locked-in interest rates.
- Floating Rate Advances – Floating rate loans that help manage interest-rate risk.
- Hybrid Rate Advances – Flexible, customizable funding for asset liability management or hedging needs.
Community Advance
Responding to member feedback, FHLBank Chicago has combined multiple products into one, our new Community Advance, for flexible ease of use, improved application approval experience, and enhanced community building benefits.
The Community Advance offers an improved process for application and approval as well as product improvements to eligibility, pricing, and requirements. Benefits include:
- Online application and approval process will minimize time to apply, confirm eligibility, and receive approval within minutes.
- Streamlined documentation, including upfront certifications.
- Expanded eligibility including new financing vehicles – mortgage-backed securities, mortgage revenue bonds, and low-income housing tax credits; loan originations to or purchase of loans from non-depository CDFIs and nonprofit mortgage originators; all eligible small businesses qualify – no AMI limit.
- Improved pricing through tiered discounts of up to 200bps based on financing type or underlying activity supported such as housing construction and rehabilitation loans, and funding for non-depository CDFI and nonprofit mortgage originators.
- No match funding requirements
- Both floating and fixed rate advances available
Mortgage Partnership Finance Program
Our Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) Program provides community lenders with a competitive secondary mortgage market investor to sell their fixed-rate residential mortgage loans. The MPF Program incentivizes sustainable homeownership by paying members to share in the risk of default while relieving them of the interest rate risk on those loans.
Learn MoreLetters of Credit
FHLBank Chicago’s letters of credit enable our members to leverage our excellent credit rating at a competitive price to support liquidity, asset liability management, and to facilitate residential housing finance and community lending activities. Letters of credit are issued to guarantee payment or performance on behalf of our members to third parties.
Learn MoreCommunity First Fund
The Community First Fund is a revolving loan fund that provides unsecured lending to community organizations, including non-depository community development financial institutions (CDFIs), to support their affordable housing and community development lending in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Learn MoreWhat Our Members Are Saying
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Ami Myrland
President and CFO, Capitol Bank
Brian Gansauer
Community Bank President, Southern Illinois Region, Peoples National Bank
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Nathan Terwelp
Senior Vice President, Mortgage Lender, State Street Bank
Insights to Guide Your Strategy
Access timely articles, whitepapers, and podcasts from FHLBank Chicago to stay ahead of product updates and market trends.
Investing In Opportunities
Check out our impact report to see what our funding means to our members' communities.
View Report Summary