Jerome Powell

The central bank will prolong the life of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility and three other programs while returning congressionally approved funds for five separate facilities that will shut down Dec. 31.

The Trump administration has compelled the Federal Reserve to shut down the Main Street Lending Program and other facilities that aid banks’ pandemic relief efforts, but President-elect Biden’s Treasury nominee could help turn the spigot back on.

The statement comes after multiple small and midsize institutions earlier this year warned the agencies that the secured overnight financing rate was ill-suited to them.

Defaults have been milder than expected thanks to government relief and stricter underwriting. But with the crisis dragging on and policymakers unable to agree on a stimulus plan, loans to highly indebted companies remain at risk.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council said the mortgage giants may need a bigger capital cushion than their regulator has proposed, but stopped short of designating them as “systemically important financial institutions.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.