Today, the Federal Reserve took additional actions to provide up to $2.3tn in loans to support the US economy. This funding will assist households and employers of all sizes and bolster the ability of state and local governments to deliver critical services during the coronavirus pandemic. A brief summary of the actions taken is below.
The actions the Federal Reserve is taking today to support employers of all sizes and communities across the country will:
- Bolster the effectiveness of the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by supplying liquidity to participating financial institutions through term financing backed by PPP loans to small businesses. The PPP provides loans to small businesses so that they can keep their workers on the payroll. The Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF) will extend credit to eligible financial institutions that originate PPP loans, taking the loans as collateral at face value;
- Ensure credit flows to small and mid-sized businesses with the purchase of up to $600bn in loans through the Main Street Lending Program. The Department of the Treasury, using funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) will provide $75bn in equity to the facility;
- Increase the flow of credit to households and businesses through capital markets, by expanding the size and scope of the Primary and Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facilities (PMCCF and SMCCF) as well as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). These three programs will now support up to $850bn in credit backed by $85bn in credit protection provided by the Treasury; and
- Help state and local governments manage cash flow stresses caused by the coronavirus pandemic by establishing a Municipal Liquidity Facility that will offer up to $500bn in lending to states and municipalities. The Treasury will provide $35bn of credit protection to the Federal Reserve for the Municipal Liquidity Facility using funds appropriated by the CARES Act.
