A Vegas Whale and Wall Street Tap Billions Meant for US Housing

As prices across the US climbed last year, Texas tycoon and legendary high-stakes poker player Andy Beal saw a chance to profit. All he needed was several billion dollars to wager on inflation.

Two banks he owns got the money, leaning hard on an unexpected source. They pulled $4.4 billion from a government system created during the Great Depression to help Americans get mortgages, regulatory filings show.

Beal is just one of many financiers tapping into the nation’s 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, often for reasons completely divorced from housing. It’s not illegal. But they represent what critics say ...