Businesses Still Waiting For Fed’s Main Street Lending Program

As Connecting the Dots readers are aware, the Federal Reserve Bank and the U.S. Department of the Treasury are working to establish a program that will provide low-interest loans to businesses with fewer than 15,000 employees. Called the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), the program will provide a total of $600 billion in financing to these companies.

While there is still no official word from the Fed regarding when the MSLP will be operational, comments made during a recent U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing are not encouraging. Fed Vice Chairman Randal Quarles suggested the program will not likely be up and running for several weeks. Specifically, Quarles said, “I don’t think we’re looking at months, but it would be premature for me to say exactly how many weeks it would be before they’re operational.”

While businesses wait, they should click here to use the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s guide to check eligibility, calculate borrowing parameters (loans start at $500,000), and learn how to apply for one of the program’s three new lending facilities.

The Fed has issued term sheets for the New Loan, Expanded Loan, and Priority Loan facilities, as well as a comprehensive FAQ document explaining the MSLP. Information, including the program launch date and application procedures, will be on the Fed’s Main Street page when it is available.