The Federal Home Loan Bank System’s net income was up 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter and was off 0.6 percent for the full year. Earnings dropped some in the last three months of the year to $866 million, from $854 million in the third quarter, rounding out the year with a net income total of $3.376 billion. The FHLBank Office of Finance noted that the quarterly decrease was primarily due to lower gains on derivatives and hedging activities. Meanwhile, lower gains on litigation settlements contributed to the yearly decrease. Total assets for the FHLBanks were nearly steady going to $1.10 trillion from $1.09 trillion, and total liabilities were $1.03 billion, both representing greater than 4 percent year-over-year increases for 2017.