CEO of FHLBank-Des Moines Steps Down

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines has announced that Patrick Conway, the president and chief executive officer of the troubled bank, has stepped down and will retire from the bank.Board member Neil Fruechte will serve as acting president and CEO until a replacement is found. "Mr. Conway and the board reached a mutual agreement," FHLBank spokeswoman Nicky Schissel said of the management change. The FHLBank, which is the second-largest investor in Mortgage Partnership Finance loans, is in the midst of restating its earnings for 2001 through 2004 because it misapplied derivative accounting rules for hedging fixed-rate mortgages. Last summer, federal examiners raised concerns about the bank's operations and internal controls, which prompted the board to set up a review committee. Mr. Conway worked at the FHLBank of San Francisco before he joined the Des Moines bank as its president in 1999.