This session is an opportunity for potential borrowers in the Main Street Lending Program to learn about changes to the program announced on June 8, 2020 and to ask questions about the program to senior officials from the Federal Reserve.

The Main Street Lending Program is designed to support small and medium-sized U.S. businesses and their employees during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help businesses that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

Interested participants are encouraged to review the updated program term sheets and frequently asked questions that were released on June 8, 2020.

This session is an opportunity for potential lenders in the Main Street Lending Program to learn about changes to the program announced on June 8, 2020 and to ask questions about the program to senior officials from the Federal Reserve.

The Main Street Lending Program is designed to support small and medium-sized U.S. businesses and their employees during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help businesses that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

Interested participants are encouraged to review the updated program term sheets and frequently asked questions that were released on June 8, 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic sweeping through the United States has highlighted critical pockets of vulnerability in our system of healthcare coverage. Essential frontline workers in particular face ongoing risk of infection and of infecting their families and others. For these workers, health insurance is critical. Healthcare workers, of course, face great risk of infection in this time, but another group of workers is also particularly vulnerable: service workers outside of healthcare settings, in industries that are deemed essential. In this brief, we analyze rates of insurance among essential frontline healthcare and non-healthcare workers across New England. In spite of relatively high rates of insurance in New England, there are roughly 50,000 uninsured essential workers across the region. These workers are at increased risk both of infection and of high out-of-pocket medical expenses if they seek care. Such economic risks may preclude them from...

This session is an opportunity for potential lenders in the Main Street Lending Program to learn about changes to the program announced on June 8, 2020 and to ask questions about the program to senior officials from the Federal Reserve.

The Main Street Lending Program is designed to support small and medium-sized U.S. businesses and their employees during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help businesses that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

Interested participants are encouraged to review the updated program term sheets and frequently asked questions that were released on June 8, 2020.

MONTHS BEFORE the first documented case of coronavirus became public, an owner of a Connecticut-based child care center suggested a way to demonstrate child care’s critical role in the economy.

“Just shut down child care for a day,” she said. “The economy will come to a screeching halt.”

Increase the amount of long-term affordable rental housing, especially in high-opportunity communities. Protect existing affordable rental housing from physical deterioration and financial insecurity. Support affordable housing projects currently in the pipeline that face financial obstacles due to the pandemic.

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday expanded its Main Street Lending Program to allow more small and medium-sized businesses to be able to receive support. The Board lowered the minimum loan amount, raised the maximum loan limit, adjusted the principal repayment schedule to begin after two years, and extended the term to five years, providing borrowers with greater flexibility in repaying the loans. The Board expects the Main Street program to be open for lender registration soon and to be actively buying loans shortly afterwards.

"Supporting small and mid-sized businesses so they are ready to reopen and rehire workers will help foster a broad-based economic recovery," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said. "I am confident the changes we are making will improve the ability of the Main Street Lending Program to support employment during this difficult period."

Small and medium-sized businesses are a vital part of the economy and employ tens of millions of...

Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic was mounting in Pittsfield, Mass., during the fourth week in March, just like it was around New England, and hunger was a big concern.

The school’s free lunch program was gone with canceled classes, reduced public transportation limited food pantry access, and people without savings were suddenly without jobs and a way to pay food bills.

It turned out a monthly meeting, established by the Pittsfield’s Working Cities Challenge initiative, was well-timed. About 40 people gathered via videoconference – including low-income residents and local political and business leaders – and began planning how to get food to those who needed it.

Restaurants and other organizations have since provided free meals to school children and front line workers, while volunteers began delivering boxes of food to isolated households with no income, according to Alisa Costa the WCC’s Pittsfield director. Meanwhile,...

The Beige Book is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector.

Job losses and likely layoffs related to the COVID-19 pandemic will put many New England residents at risk of not being able to pay their mortgage or rent and needing financial assistance and state-government safeguards to remain in their homes. Economic interventions from Congress, primarily through the federal CARES Act, include direct payments to households and increased unemployment insurance benefits that are expected to provide vital support to many of these households for the next three to four months. Even with these efforts, 2 to 3 percent of New England homeowners and 9 to 13 percent of New England renters may be unable to make their housing payments. Many states have temporarily halted evictions, foreclosures, or both to protect people from losing their homes, at least in the short term. However, once the economy begins to recover, these households will remain responsible for their unpaid rents and mortgages. This report’s findings represent the immediate, three-...

This webinar is an opportunity for potential lenders in the Main Street Lending Program to learn more details about the infrastructure and operations of the Main Street Lending Program. The program is designed to support small and medium-sized U.S. businesses during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help companies that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

Interested participants are encouraged to review the program term sheets, frequently asked questions, and listen to the recording of the Ask the Fed session on May 5 that provided an overview of the Main Street Lending Program.

To allow as many financial institutions to participate as...

This drop-in session is an opportunity for potential borrowers in the Main Street Lending Program to ask questions about the program to senior officials from the Federal Reserve. The Main Street Lending Program supports small and medium-sized U.S. businesses and their employees during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help companies that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

To allow as many potential borrowers to participate as possible, we ask each business to register no more than two representatives for the live session. A recording of the session will be available shortly after the call. We strongly encourage participants to use the webinar...

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This drop-in session is an opportunity for potential borrowers in the Main Street Lending Program to ask questions about the program to senior officials from the Federal Reserve. The Main Street Lending Program supports small and medium-sized U.S. businesses and their employees during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help companies that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

To allow as many potential borrowers to participate as possible, we ask each business to register no more than two representatives for the live session. A recording of the session will be available shortly after the call. We strongly encourage participants to use the webinar...

The Beige Book is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector.

This drop-in session is an opportunity for potential borrowers in the Main Street Lending Program to ask questions about the program to senior officials from the Federal Reserve. The Main Street Lending Program supports small and medium-sized U.S. businesses and their employees during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help companies that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

To allow as many potential borrowers to participate as possible, we ask each business to register no more than two representatives for the live session. A recording of the session will be available shortly after the call. We strongly encourage participants to use the webinar...

Early child care plays a critical role for parental employment. Yet formal care is largely unaffordable and inflexible to parents’ needs, with variable—and at times concerning— quality. In a mostly private market, it is extremely difficult for providers of early child care to offer care that is at the same time affordable, high quality, and available for parents’ diverse needs. As a result, parents may struggle just to access care that they need to work, perhaps paying more than they can afford and/or not obtaining care that is of high quality; trade-offs like these may carry negative implications for their children, employment, and income.

To better understand whether and how the “need for change” is perceived among child care stakeholders in New England, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston conducted an online exploratory survey between December 2018 and March 2019 with 664 individuals in New England, targeting those who identified as child care stakeholders:...

This webinar is an opportunity for potential borrowers in the Main Street Lending Program to learn more about the program and ask questions to senior officials from the Federal Reserve. The Main Street Lending Program supports small and medium-sized U.S. businesses and their employees during this period of financial strain by giving these businesses access to additional credit. The program is intended to help companies that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic maintain operations and payroll until conditions normalize. Small and medium-sized businesses are integral to the U.S. economy and create jobs for a large share of the U.S. workforce.

To allow as many potential borrowers to participate as possible, we ask each business to register no more than two representatives for the live session. A recording of the session will be available shortly after the call. We strongly encourage participants to use the...