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1 1 (April 17, 2020)

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               Researh Sevice





Federal Reserve: Emergency Lending in

Response to COVID-19



April 17, 2020
The coronavirus (COVID- 19) has created significant economic and financial disruption. In response, the
Federal Reserve (Fed) has taken a number of actions to promote economic and financial stability. This
Insight covers actions taken by the Fed in its lender of last resort role-actions intended to provide
liquidity directly to firms to ensure they have continued access to needed funding. The Fed finances this
assistance by expanding its balance sheet. For information on the Fed's monetary policy actions, see CRS
Insight INi 1330, Federal Reserve: Monetary Policy Actions in Response to COVID-19, by Marc Labonte.
For information on regulatory changes made by the Fed, see CRS Insight IN 11278, Banking Regulators'
Response to COVID-19, by Andrew P. Scott and David W. Perkins.

Discount Window
In a March 15 announcement, the Fed encouraged insured depository institutions (e.g., banks) to borrow
from the Fed's discount window to meet their liquidity needs. This is the Fed's traditional tool in its
lender of last resort function. Discount window lending is negligible in normal conditions, but has surged
since March. The Fed also encouraged banks to use intraday credit available through the Fed's payment
systems as a source of liquidity.

Emergency Credit Facilities
In 2008, the Fed created a series of emergency credit facilities to support liquidity in the nonbank
financial system. This extended the Fed's traditional role as lender of last resort from the banking system
to the overall financial system for the first time since the Great Depression. To create these facilities, the
Fed relied on its emergency lending authority (Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act). This authority,
amended by the Dodd-Frank Act (P.L. 111-203), places a number of restrictions on the Fed, including that
the facilities can operate only in unusual and exigent circumstances.
Emergency authority was not used again until 2020. To date, the Fed has created nine emergency
facilities-some new, and some reviving 2008 facilities-in response to COVID-19:



                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                     IN11327

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