Congress authorized the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to intervene if the pandemic caused a liquidity scare, but nearly two months later deposits are through the roof and the agency has not acted on the expanded authority.
The central bank’s programs announced since mid-April in response to the coronavirus outbreak match if not exceed the actions it took during the 2007-9 financial crisis.
The Federal Reserve chairman pledged to use every tool at the central bank's disposal to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus and urged lawmakers to take further action.
The central bank expanded the reach of the program as pressure mounts on the government to support localities struggling economically because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Senate Banking Committee chair will work with the heads of other panels in overseeing the $2 trillion stimulus package that Congress passed last month.
The letter written by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was seen as a boost to Wall Street lobbying efforts seeking to quell the fallout of the coronavirus crisis on the mortgage market.
Midsize businesses and state and local governments are among the beneficiaries of the central bank's latest $2 trillion effort to mitigate the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Fed's actions are designed to ensure the flow of credit to midsize businesses and state and local governments hit hard by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
