The financial crisis considerably strengthened the case for a “macro-prudential” component in financial regulation – that is, regulatory measures developed and implemented with a view to the stability of the financial system as a whole, rather than with sole attention to the circumstances...

The Federal Home Loan Banks are the less well-known siblings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since these government-sponsored enterprises were created in 1932, changes in housing finance markets have rendered largely irrelevant their original purpose of increasing the availability of mortgages....