News Topic: Main Street Lending Program

The Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program, which was designed to provide emergency support to midsize U.S. companies during the pandemic, lent out a total $17.5 billion — or just 3% of its potential capacity — according to data released Tuesday by ... Read full article

A federal watchdog is looking into former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to roll back the U.S. Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs at the end of 2020, an issue that has become a point of partisan tension in Congress. ... Read full article

The Federal Reserve has returned about $42 billion to the U.S. Treasury, and will soon transfer another $20 billion in excess funds connected to emergency lending facilities that stopped offering new loans last month, it said Thursday. ... Read full article

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin approved the extension of the Main Street Lending Program, which offers loans to midsize companies affected by the pandemic, to Jan. 8. ... Read full article

Asked about the political uncertainty surrounding the undecided presidential race, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank isn’t wavering from its duty “to support the economy during this difficult time.” ... Read full article

Underwhelming participation in the middle-market loan program has forced the central bank to reduce the minimum borrowing amount for the third time, to $100,000. ... Read full article

Loan officers surveyed by the central bank said the subpar creditworthiness of some applicants and the ability of others to find credit elsewhere are among reasons the middle-market rescue facility has fizzled. ... Read full article

The Fed chief said that with its Main Street Lending Program, the central bank has “done basically all of the things that we can think of.” ... Read full article

Commercial real estate loans are vulnerable as financial assistance for tenants winds down and might not be fully renewed. Late rent payments could rise, leading lenders to press landlords to pay up. ... Read full article

Commercial real estate companies are among those left out of the Federal Reserve’s middle-market relief program, but House members said they need government-backed financing to navigate the pandemic as much as anyone. ... Read full article

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department released a set of FAQ's aimed to clearing up misconceptions about the Main Street Lending program and encouraging more bank participation. ... Read full article

With only a fraction of the funds allocated being used, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is considering tweaks to the middle-market rescue program in an appeal to lenders wary of taking on added risk. ... Read full article

The Senate Banking Committee met Wednesday to review central bank lending facilities such as the Main Street Lending Program, which provides bank-issued loans to middle-market firms. But some lawmakers on the panel said the focus of pandemic relief has ... Read full article

Only one of the 118 loans bought by the Federal Reserve through Aug. 31 was close to the $250,000 minimum in the rescue program, aimed small to midsize businesses hurt by the pandemic. ... Read full article

With big banks largely shunning the program, small banks see an opening to grab more market share in commercial lending. ... Read full article

The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said the central bank had acquired stakes in 32 business loans as of Monday, four times the amount from two weeks earlier. ... Read full article

At its inaugural hearing, the committee appointed by lawmakers to oversee CARES Act implementation pressed for answers about why the Main Street Lending Program is off to such a slow start. ... Read full article

Just eight loans had been made as of late July, six of them through a single community bank in Florida, according to new data on the federal rescue program for small and midsize companies hurt by the pandemic. ... Read full article