FHLB Cincinnati coronavirus preparedness

March 13, 2020

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues its spread across the world and has entered the Fifth District, with cases reported in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. Your Federal Home Loan Bank is monitoring the situation, and has acted to prepare for its impact. Our primary concerns are the health and safety of our employees and members, and maintaining reliable access to liquidity.

We are continuously evaluating how we interact with our members, vendors and all constituents, as we attempt to minimize exposure all around. FHLB management implemented a number of precautions to mitigate risk of infection or transmission of the virus, including air travel and in-person meeting restrictions, increased flexibility for remote working, and heightened attention to CDC hygiene practices.

We want to reassure our members that our lending window is open and we plan to remain open throughout this period. We know our members are enacting work-from-home and other remote working arrangements. We want to remind members to ensure enough authorized staff are available to execute transactions on behalf of your institution. Considerations for transacting business with FHLB Cincinnati during this time:

  • Please review your resolution for Advances, Correspondent Services Agreements and Exhibits, as well as access to Members Only to ensure all authorized staff members’ access is up to date. This is particularly important for transactions that require dual approval.
  • Consider implementing a repetitive line for wire transfers. This would permit authorized users to execute single-control wires to a specified source (such as your Fed account or another correspondent bank). You’ll find the form in the Funds Transfer section of Members Only, and it can be signed and submitted electronically, so it can be implemented same day.
  • For non-repetitive wires, we will need a list of contingency contact phone numbers, if you are working off site, for verification of transfers.

We will continue to communicate with you throughout this period, to inform you about our preparedness for this event. If you have questions, call us at 888-852-6500, or contact your Relationship Manager.