Which U.S. president signed the 1932 law creating the Federal Home Loan Bank System?

Herbert Hoover signed the 1932 Federal Home Loan Bank Act, creating the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

The system was designed during the Great Depression to strengthen the flow of mortgage credit. It established regional Federal Home Loan Banks that could provide advances to member institutions, helping savings and loan associations and other housing lenders maintain liquidity.

Hoover was president when the act became law in July 1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933, after the presidential election and amid the continuing banking crisis, so the measure is sometimes incorrectly associated with the New Deal.

The Federal Home Loan Bank System continued after the Depression and remains a major source of secured funding for member financial institutions. It is separate from the Federal Reserve, although both are federally chartered parts of the U.S. financial system.