Overview
At 8:00 a.m. on March 23, the Federal Reserve announced that the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously voted in favor of "further actions to support the flow of credit to households and businesses by addressing strains in the markets for Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities." Concurrently, the Federal Reserve committed "to using its full range of tools to support households, businesses, and the US economy overall in this challenging time." At the same time, the US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve authorized the expansion of two recently launched facilities and the establishment of three new facilities to provide liquidity to the financial system, including a facility to support the tax-exempt commercial paper market.
These efforts are representative of the efforts of US federal financial regulatory authorities. Some of the announcements – which began on March 13 – provide relief from regulations; others are investment programs designed to attract private capital; and others are designed to ensure the smooth operation of US financial markets.
Steptoe's Financial Services Group is monitoring the latest developments coming out of executive branch and independent regulatory agencies.
Please check this page and the Steptoe Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center for the most current information from Capitol Hill, the White House, and relevant federal agencies.
Click here for a chart outlining US financial agency action on COVID-19.
