Federal Reserve facilities

Federal Reserve facilities

Main Street Lending Program
The Federal Reserve commits to buying $600 billion in loans made to small and mid-sized U.S. businesses with up to 10,000 employees or less than $2.5 billion in 2019 revenue. The Fed will purchase 95% of a loan and the lender must retain 5%. Loan term is 4-year adjustable rate (SOFR + 250–400 bps) with principal and interest payments deferred for 1 year. This program is expected to be operational in early May.

Main Street New Loan Facility

For borrowers seeking a new bank loan:

  • Eligible loan amount $1 million–$25 million
  • Total borrower debt (including new loan amount) must not exceed 4x EBITDA
  • New loan cannot be used to refinance existing debt
  • Prohibition on stock buybacks and dividend payments for duration of loan

Main Street Expanded Loan Facility

For borrowers expanding (increasing amount) of an existing bank term loan:

  • Eligible loan amount $1 million–$150 million
  • Total borrower debt (including expanded loan) must not exceed 6x EBITDA
  • Expanded loan cannot be used to refinance existing debt
  • Prohibition on stock buybacks and dividend payments for duration of loan

Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF)
The Federal Reserve commits to buying new corporate bond issuances from investment grade-rated issuers (as of March 22, 2020) with a maturity of 4 years or less. Banks and bank holding companies are not eligible. Interest rates are issuer specific + 100 bps facility fee. Total commitment to PMCC and SMCC (see below) not to exceed $750 billion. The official launch date of this facility has not been announced, but the facility is expected to launch soon. To receive email updates on this program directly from the Federal Reserve, click here.

Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF)
The Federal Reserve commits to buying existing corporate bonds issued by investment grade-rated issuers (as of March 22, 2020) with a remaining maturity of 5 years or less. The facility will purchase bonds at fair market value. Total commitment to PMCCF and SMCCF not to exceed $750 billion. The official launch date of this facility has not been announced, but the facility is expected to launch soon. To receive email updates on this program directly from the Federal Reserve, click here.

Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF):
The Federal Reserve committed $100 billion to facilitate the issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) to provide liquidity for consumer and commercial lending. All U.S. companies that own eligible collateral and maintain an account relationship with a primary dealer are eligible to borrow under TALF. Interest rates will be SOFR + 150 bps. This facility is currently active (TALF was originally created to address the 2008 financial crisis); however, it has not begun lending. This facility is expected to begin lending again in early May.

Eligible collateral includes AAA-rated ABS with underlying exposure to:

  • Commercial mortgages*
  • Auto loans
  • Credit card receivables
  • Leveraged loans
  • Additional consumer/commercial loans

*Currently, single-asset single-borrower commercial mortgage-backed securities (SASB CMBS) and commercial real estate CLOs (CRE CLOs) are not eligible collateral.

Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF)
The Federal Reserve is supplying liquidity to financial institutions participating in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through term financing backed by PPP loans to small businesses. This facility is currently active.

Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF)
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is making loans available to money market funds in meeting demand for redemptions by households and other investors. This facility is currently active.

Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF)
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is purchasing 3-month U.S. dollar-denominated commercial paper (short-term unsecured promissory notes) that was rated at least A1/P1/F1 by a rating agency on March 17, 2020 and is currently rated no lower than A2/P2/F2. Pricing is based on the then-current overnight index swap rate + 110–200 bps depending on credit rating. This facility is currently active.

Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF)
The Federal Reserve is offering overnight and term funding (with maturities up to 90 days) for primary dealers of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Credit can be collateralized by a broad range of securities. Interest rates are the primary credit rate (i.e., discount rate) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This facility is currently active.

Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF)
The Federal Reserve is purchasing up to $500 billion of short-term notes directly from U.S. states, counties (population of at least 2 million), and cities (population of at least 1 million) to help state and local governments better manage cash flow pressures. This facility is currently active.

Central Bank Liquidity Swaps (CBLS)
The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Swiss National Bank have taken coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing U.S. dollar liquidity swap line arrangements. In addition, the Federal Reserve has established temporary dollar liquidity swap lines with nine additional foreign central banks.

Temporary Foreign and International Monetary Authorities Repo Facility (FIMA Repo Facility)
The FIMA Repo Facility will allow FIMA account holders, which consist of central banks and other international monetary authorities with accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to enter into repurchase agreements with the Federal Reserve. In these transactions, FIMA account holders temporarily exchange their U.S. Treasury securities held with the Federal Reserve for U.S. dollars, which can then be made available to institutions in their jurisdictions. This facility should help support the smooth functioning of the U.S. Treasury market by providing an alternative temporary source of U.S. dollars other than sales of securities in the open market.

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