Merger of Federal Home Loan Banks of Seattle and Des Moines

Cleary Gottlieb is representing Citigroup Global Markets as financial advisor to Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle in the proposed merger-of-equals between Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle and Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines. The stock-for-stock deal, announced on September 25, 2014, is expected to close in 2015, subject to approval by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator charged with overseeing the Federal Home Loan Banks, and to the ratification by the member-owners of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.

The Federal Home Loan Banks are 12 regional cooperative banks that lending institutions use to finance housing and economic development in their communities. At the close of the transaction, which will mark the first merger of two Federal Home Loan Banks, the combined bank will serve nearly 1,500 member financial institutions in 13 states and the U.S. Pacific territories and have almost $120 billion in assets.