Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA)

This legislation established a new and independent regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for the three housing government sponsored enterprises – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The Act also increased the size of Community Financial Institutions to $1 billion and allowed the FHLBanks to issue standby letters of credit, through members, on a wide range of tax-exempt bonds, among other changes.