WASHINGTON—The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led the Federal Reserve to extend several of its lending facilities to Dec. 31. The facilities had been scheduled to expire near the end of September.
"The three-month extension will facilitate planning by potential facility participants and provide certainty that the facilities will continue to be available to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic," the Fed stated. "The Board's lending facilities have provided a critical backstop, stabilizing and substantially improving market functioning and enhancing the flow of credit to households, businesses, and state and local governments."
As CUToday.info has reported, the Fed in April announced additional efforts to support the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, including providing up to $2.3 trillion in loans to households and businesses of all sizes through new or expanded lending facilities.
The Facilities Involved
Among the facilities being extended through the end of the year are:
- The Main Street Lending Program, to which the Fed in June made changes to ensure more small and mid-sized businesses had access to funds
- The Primary Dealer Credit Facility
- The Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility
- The Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility
- The Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility
- The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility
- The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Liquidity Facility
The Municipal Liquidity Facility was already set to expire Dec. 31, and the Commercial Paper Funding Facility is set to expire March 17, 2021.