The 2020 COVID-19 CDFI Survey is a special effort to gather data from CDFIs across the United States and to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on their organizations, clients, and communities. The survey is open from July 20-August 14, and is a partnership of the Federal Reserve System, the CDFI Fund, Opportunity Finance Network, the CDFI Coalition, the Native CDFI Network, First Nations Oweesta Corporation, Inclusiv, NeighborWorks America, the New York State CDFI Coalition and the Asociación de Ejecutivos de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito de Puerto Rico.

Our mission is founded in public service—strengthening the economic performance of the nation and our region and making a difference in the communities we serve. At our Bank, you’ll get the benefits you need and have the work–life balance you want. Your health, finances, and professional achievement matter to us. And our culture is one of inclusion, in which diversity of thought is encouraged and uniqueness embraced.

Be part of something big. Be part of our future. Make the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland your next career move.

The event featured a conversation between Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and CEO Loretta J. Mester, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Jerome Powell, and Youngstown-area community leaders, business owners, and local stakeholders:

America needs a bridge—a bridge that will get households, communities, and businesses over the unanticipated challenges created by the COVID-19 shutdown. In helping to build that bridge, the Federal Reserve, with authorization from Congress, has created and revived a number of rare lending programs, each providing targeted assistance to the needs of those impacted.

The challenge: Investors buy corporate bonds, which are essentially IOUs that companies issue when companies need money. While on the investors’ books, the bonds generate income as issuing companies pay interest and, after some period of time, the original amount financed. In the event an investor wants to sell off some of its bonds before they are paid off by the borrower, they typically can do so because many other investors are willing to buy corporate bonds. Current conditions have made investors less willing to buy such bonds, leaving those that want or need to sell the bonds without buyers. At the same...

Senior Research Economist

Raphael Schoenle's research focuses on macro- and monetary economics, in particular on firms’ pricing behavior and the role of financial frictions in these processes. His research also spans behavioral economics and household finance, the economics of production networks, and international macroeconomics.

Kristen Tauber Willem Van Zandweghe

Empirical studies find that the link between inflation and economic slack has weakened in recent decades, a development that could hamper monetary policymakers as they aim to achieve their inflation objective. We show that while the role of economic slack has diminished, economic growth has become a significant driver of inflation dynamics, indicating that the link between inflation and economic activity remains but the relevant gauge of activity has changed. The new evidence suggests that the COVID-19-related recession could induce substantial disinflationary pressure. Read More

Summer Scholar

Rebecca Cowin is a summer scholar in the Community Development Department. She is pursuing a BA in economics with a minor in Spanish at the University of Minnesota.

Our mission is founded in public service—strengthening the economic performance of the nation and our region and making a difference in the communities we serve. At our Bank, you’ll get the benefits you need and have the work–life balance you want. Your health, finances, and professional achievement matter to us. And our culture is one of inclusion, in which diversity of thought is encouraged and uniqueness embraced.

Be part of something big. Be part of our future. Make the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland your next career move.

Want to engage your kids during the summer? Join our #CLEFedSummerFun challenge with hands-on activities that we’ve created to teach important financial literacy concepts, while providing fun for the whole family!

To participate in this at-home, virtual fun, at the beginning of each challenge, download the activity sheet to get started. The activity sheet for each challenge will be posted on the start dates seen below.

America needs a bridge—a bridge that will get households, communities, and businesses over the unanticipated challenges created by the COVID-19 shutdown. In helping to build that bridge, the Federal Reserve, with authorization from Congress, has created and revived a number of rare lending programs, each providing targeted assistance to the needs of those impacted.

The challenge: Many of the revenues that cities, states, and counties take in have been adversely impacted by the pandemic. For example, the sales taxes they collect are down because local businesses are selling less. Income tax revenues are down because millions of people are laid off or working less. All the while, these places still need to pay their expenses, such as salaries for the first responders, teachers, and others who provide essential services to their citizens. As a result, many cities, counties, and states face mounting financial pressure. Before the pandemic, they might have issued municipal...

The coronavirus outbreak is causing considerable human suffering and disrupting economic activity in the United States and abroad. As the nation takes steps to protect people’s health, the Federal Reserve is doing its part to support the economy and the financial system. Here in the Fourth Federal Reserve District, the Cleveland Fed is fully operational. Employees whose roles allow them to do so are performing their duties from home. We are focused on protecting the health of our employees and helping to slow the spread of COVID-19 as we continue to carry out our critical responsibilities on behalf of the American public. I am grateful to our dedicated workforce during this challenging period.

This is an evolving situation that we are continuing to monitor closely. To help answer some questions about our efforts, this page features a number of useful resources. We will be updating this site as developments warrant.

America needs a bridge—a bridge that will get households, communities, and businesses over the unanticipated challenges created by the COVID-19 shutdown. In helping to build that bridge, the Federal Reserve, with authorization from Congress, has created and revived a number of rare lending programs, each providing targeted assistance to the needs of those impacted.

The challenge: Under normal economic conditions, larger businesses can raise funds by issuing corporate bonds. Investors buy the bonds, lending businesses the cash they need, and, over a period of time, the businesses pay back the investors plus interest. Given the current pandemic and resulting economic shutdowns, investors’ appetite for corporate bonds is down because they are unsure how businesses will perform and if the businesses will repay. That has caused the availability of credit to contract for corporations and other issuers of corporate bonds at the same time that companies have a heightened need...

Our mission is founded in public service—strengthening the economic performance of the nation and our region and making a difference in the communities we serve. At our Bank, you’ll get the benefits you need and have the work–life balance you want. Your health, finances, and professional achievement matter to us. And our culture is one of inclusion, in which diversity of thought is encouraged and uniqueness embraced.

Be part of something big. Be part of our future. Make the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland your next career move.

Want to engage your kids during the summer? Join our #CLEFedSummerFun challenge with hands-on activities that we’ve created to teach important financial literacy concepts, while providing fun for the whole family!

To participate in this at-home, virtual fun, at the beginning of each challenge, download the activity sheet to get started. The activity sheet for each challenge will be posted on the start dates seen below.

Given the disruptions caused by COVID-19, the Federal Reserve, along with other co-sponsoring Federal Reserve Banks and regional planning universities, have made the following changes to the National College Fed Challenge structure to ensure the competition can be held in 2020.

This new format will allow schools outside the current Fed Challenge districts to compete in a newly created at-large new region.

America needs a bridge—a bridge that will get households, communities, and businesses over the unanticipated challenges created by the COVID-19 shutdown. In helping to build that bridge, the Federal Reserve, with authorization from Congress, has created and revived a number of rare lending programs, each providing targeted assistance to the needs of those impacted.

The challenge: Under normal economic conditions, larger businesses can raise funds by issuing corporate bonds. Investors buy the bonds, lending businesses the cash they need, and, over a period of time, the businesses pay back the investors plus interest. Given the current pandemic and resulting economic shutdowns, investors’ appetite for corporate bonds is down because they are unsure how businesses will perform and if the businesses will repay. That has caused the availability of credit to contract for corporations and other issuers of corporate bonds at the same time that companies have a heightened need...

Our mission is founded in public service—strengthening the economic performance of the nation and our region and making a difference in the communities we serve. At our Bank, you’ll get the benefits you need and have the work–life balance you want. Your health, finances, and professional achievement matter to us. And our culture is one of inclusion, in which diversity of thought is encouraged and uniqueness embraced.

Be part of something big. Be part of our future. Make the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland your next career move.

America needs a bridge—a bridge that will get households, communities, and businesses over the unanticipated challenges created by the COVID-19 shutdown. In helping to build that bridge, the Federal Reserve, with authorization from Congress, has created and revived a number of rare lending programs, each providing targeted assistance to the needs of those impacted.

The challenge: Under normal economic conditions, larger businesses can raise funds by issuing corporate bonds. Investors buy the bonds, lending businesses the cash they need, and, over a period of time, the businesses pay back the investors plus interest. Given the current pandemic and resulting economic shutdowns, investors’ appetite for corporate bonds is down because they are unsure how businesses will perform and if the businesses will repay. That has caused the availability of credit to contract for corporations and other issuers of corporate bonds at the same time that companies have a heightened need...