As of Sept. 30, 2008, the Bank had total assets of $213.7 billion, anincrease of $24.8 billion, or 13.1 percent, from Dec. 31, 2007. This increasewas primarily a result of increases in advances, federal funds sold, andheld-to-maturity securities. Advances, the largest asset on the Bank'sbalance sheet, increased by $21.4 billion, or 15.0 percent, during this sameperiod due to increased demand for advances during the last month of the thirdquarter as the Bank responded to its members' increased need for liquidity.

The Bank reported a net loss of $46.1 million for the third quarter of2008, a decrease of $179.2 million from net income of $133.1 million for thethird quarter of 2007. The Bank's net income for the first nine months of 2008was $179.2 million, a decrease of $143.0 million from net income of $322.2million for the same period in 2007. The decrease in net income during theperiods was due primarily to the establishment of a $170.5 million reserve fora credit loss on a receivable due from Lehman Brothers Special Financing(LBSF), which filed bankruptcy on Oct. 3, 2008, and the recording of another-than-temporary impairment loss of $87.3 million on private labelmortgage-backed securities (MBS). The reserve for credit loss on the LBSFreceivable represents 90.0 percent of the outstanding receivable, which is theBank's best estimate of collectability.

These amounts were offset partially by a $50.6 million and $182.1 millionincrease in net interest income during the third quarter and first nine monthsof 2008, respectively, resulting from higher average advances and MBSbalances, and an increase in interest rate spread, during the periods.

"The net loss for the quarter is an unfortunate product of the globalfinancial markets, particularly the reserve related to the LBSF bankruptcyfiling and the other-than-temporary impairment on our MBS," said Richard A.Dorfman, the Bank's President and Chief Executive Officer. "However, theseresults do not reflect substantive weakness in the fundamental strength of theBank nor our commitment to funding members at this critical time."

The 2008 third quarter performance resulted in an annualized return onequity (ROE) of (2.13) percent for the Bank as compared to the 7.52 percentfor the third quarter of 2007. The ROE spread to three-month average LIBORdecreased between the periods, equaling (5.04) percent for the third quarterof 2008 as compared to 2.08 percent for the third quarter of 2007.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, 2008, the Bank distributed $58.9million of earnings to members as a return on their capital investment in theBank, representing an annualized dividend rate of 2.89 percent, as compared to6.0 percent and 5.75 percent for the first and second quarters of 2008,respectively. The Bank's retained earnings balance was $360.3 million as ofSept. 30, 2008, a decrease of $108.5 million, or 23.1 percent, from Dec. 31,2007, due to establishment of the LBSF-related reserve and the impairment onmortgage-backed securities.

The Bank filed its full financial report on Form 10-Q on Nov. 14, 2008.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

The Bank is a cooperative financial services organization that providesfunding, community development grants, and other banking services to more than1,200 member financial institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland,North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. TheBank is one of 12 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System (theFHLBank System), which since 1990 has contributed more than $2 billion toaffordable housing development in the United States.

Some of the statements made in this announcement, including, withoutlimitation, those statements that relate to the Bank's funding plans are"forward-looking statements," which include statements with respect to theBank's beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations,assumptions, estimates, intentions, and future performance, and involve knownand unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which may bebeyond the Bank's control, and which may cause the Bank's actual results,performance or achievements to be materially different from the futureresults, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements may not be realized due to a variety offactors, including, without limitation: legislative and regulatory actions orchanges; future economic and market conditions; changes in demand foradvances or consolidated obligations of the Bank and/or the FHLBank System;changes in interest rates; political, national and world events; and adversedevelopments or events affecting or involving other Federal Home Loan Banks orthe FHLBank System in general. Additional factors that might cause the Bank'sresults to differ from these forward-looking statements are provided in detailin our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which areavailable at www.sec.gov.

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, sincethe statements speak only as of the date that they are made. The Bank has noobligation and does not undertake to publicly update, revise or correct any ofthe forward-looking statements after the date of this announcement, or afterthe respective dates on which such statements otherwise are made, whether as aresult of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may berequired by law.

SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta