CARES Act

Lenders welcomed the move as a helpful first step but are still urging policymakers to develop a broader, simpler process for expediting the approvals of loans extended to troubled small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Customers suffered when they were placed in mortgage relief plans without their consent, the Massachusetts senator says. She urged the Federal Reserve to take the blunder into account as it weighs when to lift other sanctions against the bank.

Capping a series of appearances on Capitol Hill this week, the Federal Reserve chair and Treasury secretary emphasized that they don’t have the authority to reallocate CARES Act funds to assist small businesses on their own.

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.

Measures designed to give banks and credit unions more flexibility to help customers weather the coronavirus pandemic are set to expire Dec. 31 unless Congress renews them.

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.

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.

For all the damage from the pandemic and economic downturn, this crisis has not impacted liquidity. Lawmakers would be foolish to permanently alter the Central Liquidity Facility.

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 been misplaced.

New analysis from S&P found that only two of the of the top 20 credit unions that participated in the Paycheck Protection Program loans had assets of less than $1 billion.

Both the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Federal Housing Administration are extending relief for homeowners and renters due to the pandemic crisis.

The agencies completed steps to ease a community bank capital measure temporarily and to delay a new credit-loss accounting standard.

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

Paralysis between Republicans and Democrats hurts the people who would benefit the most from digital delivery of government stimulus funds, argues Polyient Labs' Jeff Hinkle.

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.

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.

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.

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.

As Senate Republicans consider a new coronavirus relief package, the Federal Reserve chairman said easing the so-called Collins amendment would help financial institutions support the economy.

The enhanced jobless benefits in the coronavirus relief law enacted in March helped limit delinquencies and maintain consumer spending, analysts say. In their follow-up stimulus plan, Senate Republicans want to cut those benefits from $600 to $200 a week.