Financial institutions could testify before the bipartisan commission overseeing the unprecedented economic aid for industries hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. But without subpoena authority, the panel’s impact may be limited.
The Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program is meant to be a lifeline for midsize businesses, but two weeks after its unveiling, those firms and their lenders remain on edge about what strings will be attached.
Minorities are often hit harder financially during a crisis, but if regulators move forward on revamping the Community Reinvestment Act, they’ll only make matters worse.
Large institutions say their strong capital positions allow them to reward investors, and the Fed agrees. But critics say this is the time to be preparing for a sharp downturn and continue helping those hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
The head of the Senate panel overseeing Federal Reserve and Treasury Department efforts to boost the U.S. economy urged the agencies to remember their disclosure requirements.
The hardest hit industries were leisure and hospitality and retail outside of essential-goods purchases, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey released Wednesday.
The Financial Stability Board said it stood ready to coordinate additional help on capital requirements, upcoming regulatory deadlines and other standards.
Just days after the Fed lifted Wells Fargo's asset cap so it could make more Paycheck Protection Program loans, it warned customers its queue is long and they may want to go elsewhere before program funds are exhausted.
The agency's top supervisory official said the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review will proceed on schedule, and signaled that the Fed will look at how institutions are responding to fallout from the coronavirus.
