A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Home Loan Bank System (System) faces additional risks due to the development of new products such as direct mortgage purchase programs. Responding to concern about the methods used for administrative decisionmaking, and the ability of the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) to fulfill its critical mission to regulate the safety and soundness of the System, GAO was asked to (1) compare the FHFB chair's administrative authorities with those of other financial regulators and discuss the basis for that authority, (2) assess FHFB's compliance with selected statutes and regulations in connection with an August 2002 reduction-in-force (RIF) carried out as part of an agency reorganization, and (3) assess FHFB's progress in enhancing its FHLBank safety and soundness examination program."