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Fed has used only a fraction of its Main Street lending facility
The Federal Reserve has used only a fraction of the US$600 billion in an emergency lending program for small and medium businesses struggling with the Covid pandemic, according to a congressional watchdog report. Eligible lenders participating in the Main Street program have issued US$496.8 million in loans, of which US$472 million is Federal Reserve money, or about 0.07 per cent of the central bank’s lending capacity as of Wednesday, according to the report issued Friday. “The Main Street Lending Program has seen modest initial activity thus far,” according to a monthly report from the Congressional Oversight ... (full story)