Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said about 300 lenders have signed on to the program and that the central bank is committed to making adjustments that could attract more borrowers.
Wells Fargo customers targeted with phishing attacks using calendar invites; Fed freezes stock buybacks, caps dividends after stress test results; Citigroup names Titi Cole its head of global operations and fraud prevention.
Participation in the Main Street Lending Program for midsize companies is partly about public service, but the core business rationale is building "a banking relationship that continues on for some time," the Boston Fed chief says.
Worried about a lack of demand and that some of their customers are ineligible, community banks are still on the fence about participating in the effort to back loans for businesses recovering from the pandemic crisis.
Loan forbearances are wreaking havoc with firms that normally clean up during recessions; the Fed’s latest rescue plan is off to a rocky start as few banks show interest in making the loans.
The inability of Democrats and Republicans to agree on a chairperson and lack of sufficient personnel have made it harder for the commission from doing its job — hold Treasury and the Fed accountable for implementing the coronavirus relief law, observers say.
The Fed chairman updated senators about the agency's new credit facility for midsize firms struggling in the pandemic. He also left open the possibility of additional stress tests to gauge the industry’s coronavirus response.
The central bank is only now nearing the launch of the credit facilities after the effort was announced in April. But Chairman Jerome Powell said loans have been available through other means.
