NEW YORK– Puerto Rican cooperativas are now eligible to join the Federal Home Loan Bank System.
The official announcement was made onstage at Inclusiv’s Regional Convening in San Juan, Puerto Rico by the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives (COSSEC) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY).
“Inclusiv has worked closely with our members, COSSEC and local partners to unlock FHLB System membership for financial cooperatives in Puerto Rico. Today’s announcement is the culmination of that collective effort,” President/CEO Cathie Mahon said in a statement. “It marks a monumental shift that will allow cooperatives to access long-term capital to expand mortgage lending and make the dream of homeownership affordable to low- and moderate-income Puerto Rican families and households.”
Added Aurelio Arroyo González, executive president, Cooperativa Jesús Obrero, in a statement, “Reaching FHLBNY membership represents a major milestone for Puerto Rico’s Cooperativas and validates more than 100 years of collective work providing dignified financial services to the Island’s most underserved communities. It also affirms the strength of the cooperative system and its decisive role in Puerto Rico’s economic development.”
Opening Doors
Inclusiv said access to FHLBNY programs and resources will open new doors for both cooperativas and Puerto Ricans seeking to buy land and homes, making the mortgage market in Puerto Rico more inclusive and equitable.
“With the boost to liquidity, access to long-term capital, and the homeownership support programs FHLBNY membership will provide, cooperativas will have the resources they need to expand affordable homeownership opportunities on the Island and continue growing their lending,” Inclusiv said. “With more low- and moderate-income Puerto Ricans able to buy homes, communities will be strengthened as residents become owners and longtime community members have the opportunity to put down roots and build generational wealth.”
Work to Remove Barriers
Inclusiv noted the structural distinction between cooperativas, and federally insured credit unions had long posed a barrier to their membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, despite being publicly insured and regulated institutions serving more than 1.2-million-member owners.
In 2023, Inclusiv, along with COSSEC and more than 65 cooperativas, submitted comment letters as part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) FHLBank System at 100 initiatives urging the removal of membership barriers for cooperativas. That same July, a COSSEC delegation met with FHFA officials to advocate for necessary regulatory reforms.
In April 2024, the FHFA issued a regulatory interpretation clarifying how FHLBanks should classify cooperativas when determining eligibility for membership, it noted, adding the interpretation outlined two viable pathways to membership for cooperativas and other state-chartered credit unions without federal share insurance.
Following this development, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and COSSEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to implement the new guidelines and advance the process toward cooperative membership.”
