Mayor London Breed and Former Mayor Willie Brown Join FHLBank to Celebrate the Bank’s Move Financial District Offices
FHLBank San Francisco was joined by Mayor London Breed, Former Mayor Willie Brown, Jr, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce for a Ribbon Cutting ceremony at the Bank’s new offices in the heart of the City’s Financial District. The Bank has brought its 300 employees together under one roof across five connected floors at 333 Bush Street and taken part of an additional floor to create a conference center that the cooperative wholesale bank will make available for use by its members and community partners.
FHLBank San Francisco is one of 11 regional Federal Home Loan Banks created by Congress in 1932 to promote homeownership during the Great Depression. Financial institutions with charters in Arizona, California, and Nevada make up the San Francisco Bank’s membership. In addition to providing liquidity and other essential financial services to members, FHLBank offers members access to grants that support construction or preservation of affordable housing, homeownership for low- and moderate-income families, and economic development activities.
“We desperately need more housing of all types in San Francisco, especially housing for low- and moderate-income residents so our teachers, Muni operators, and firefighters can afford to live in the community they serve,” said San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed. “Public-private partnerships play a big role in helping us get the financing we need to create more homes throughout the City, and we are grateful to organizations, like FHLBank San Francisco, that are committed to supporting our efforts to make San Francisco a more affordable place to call home.”
Willie Brown, Jr., former two-time Mayor of San Francisco, also spoke at the ceremony. “I’m delighted to be part of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s ribbon cutting celebration today,” he told attendees. “This cooperative bank, with its grant, lending, afford- able housing, and economic development programs, has long been an under-the-radar economic engine for San Francisco. Furthermore, with its members covering three western states, hundreds of other communities where local financial institutions need a reliable source of low-cost funding to serve their customers have benefited from this bank’s mission.”
Prior to the move to 333 Bush Street, the Bank’s workforce was spread across six floors in two different buildings on California Street. The consolidation will boost operational efficiencies and solidify a cohesive corporate culture at the Bank. In addition to taking and remaking the Leed Gold-certified building’s 26th-30th floors for its offices, the Bank has created a brand new, state-of-the-art conference space, dubbed The Bridge at FHLBank San Francisco, on the 32nd floor, where the ribbon cutting celebration took place.