On April 9, 2020 Treasury Secretary Mnuchin approved the establishment of a Main Street Business Lending Program and a Municipal Liquidity Facility to support the flow of credit to American workers, businesses, States, counties, and cities impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Main Street Business Lending Program Small and medium-sized businesses, through no fault of their own, have faced severe financial strain from widespread closures and liquidity pressures in the financial system. Using funds appropriated under […]
Category: Federal Reserve Board
AVAILABILITY OF SOFR DATA
Last month we published an article entitled Are You Libor Ready? On February 13 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued an Operating Policy Statement regarding publication of Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) averages and a SOFR Index to assist the transition to the new index. Publication of 30-, 90-, and 180-day SOFR Averages as well as a SOFR Index will begin March 2, 2020, in order to support a successful transition away from U.S. dollar […]
AGENCY CRA MANEUVERS
There has been recent activity on the proposed Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, but it is not clear whether the process is moving in a positive direction or not. Brainard Explains FRB Position The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) decided not to join the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) in issuing the proposed revisions to the CRA regulations. On January 8, 2020 FRB Governor Lael Brainard […]
ARE YOU LIBOR READY?
Many financial institutions make consumer loans, residential mortgage loans, and commercial loans with pricing based on the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). In 2017 the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (the regulator that oversees the LIBOR panel) announced that, by the end of 2021, it will discontinue the index. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) in conjunction with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research have […]
CRA THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT
On December 30, 2019 the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (collectively the Agencies) amended their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to adjust the asset-size thresholds used to define ” small bank” or “small savings association” and “intermediate small bank” or “intermediate small savings association.” As required by the CRA regulations, the adjustment to the threshold amount is based on the annual percentage change to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical […]