Commercial real estate companies are among those left out of the Federal Reserve’s middle-market relief program, but House members said they need government-backed financing to navigate the pandemic as much as anyone.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of Sept. 11-17

The central bank said it would keep interest rates at current levels through at least to help the U.S. economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Legislation favorable to the industry would be unlikely to pass in a divided Congress, but the biggest benefit for banks and credit unions of Republicans' retaining control of the chamber would be defending against the disruption of a Democratic blue wave.

The dot plot will be the star of the meeting, but the coronavirus and the elections will be part of the discussion, economists say.

The stock market has reached record highs despite rampant unemployment, recession and a global pandemic. What gives?

The Senate Banking Committee met Wednesday to review central bank lending facilities such as the Main Street Lending Program, which provides bank-issued loans to middle-market firms. But some lawmakers on the panel said the focus of pandemic relief has been misplaced.

This proposed Libor replacement is an imaginary, backward-looking benchmark dreamed up by the economists at the Fed with no discernible market.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced a new approach to monetary policy Thursday that takes a more relaxed stance on inflation and on its view of how low U.S. unemployment can go.

Citigroup’s $900 million payment blunder in a normally low-profile part of the financial market dominated by a handful of banks has experts wondering if regulators will uncover a deeper problem.

The bank has begun briefing regulators about how it mistakenly sent payments to creditors of Revlon, the financially strapped cosmetics company. Citi has also filed a lawsuit against Brigade Capital Management seeking to recoup $175 million it sent to Brigade on Revlon's behalf.

The Fed's TALF program to support AAA-rated ABS securities issuance continues to resonate in the prime auto securitization space.

Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.

Policymakers have eased some rules and the Supreme Court recently dealt a blow to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But as the landmark legislation approaches its 10th anniversary, the post-crisis regulatory regime has stayed largely intact.

The Federal Reserve's extraordinary effort to keep credit flowing to companies during the COVID-19 pandemic is also shunting money to banks' bottom lines.

The panel later this month will vote on the nomination of Judy Shelton, whose views on certain policy issues have met with skepticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

A bond market once thought to be key to the futures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — and the roughly $5 trillion of home loans they backstop — could instead find itself on the scrap heap due to their own regulator.

Banks participating in the Main Street Lending Program were able to register for and offer credit to businesses last month, but the Federal Reserve said Monday it was set to make the effort fully operational.

The inability of Democrats and Republicans to agree on a chairperson and lack of sufficient personnel have made it harder for the commission to do its job — hold Treasury and the Fed accountable for implementing the coronavirus relief law, observers say.

The Fed chairman updated senators about the agency's new credit facility for midsize firms struggling in the pandemic. He also left open the possibility of additional stress tests to gauge the industry’s coronavirus response.