Main Street Lending Program

The Federal Reserve has approved $2.3 trillion in new economic initiatives designed to provide support to households, businesses, and local governments impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. One such initiative is the Main Street Business Lending Program which is designed to help small and mid-sized businesses during this time. Through this program, the Federal Reserve will provide loans to companies with up to 10,000 employees or less than $2.5 billion in revenue last year. These "Main Street" loans would be four-year, low interest loans for a minimum of $1 million with principal and interest payments deferred for a year.

The Federal Reserve is partnering with eligible banks to offer new Main Street loans or increase the amount of existing loans. The proposed term sheets for these loans can be found on the Federal Reserve’s website at this link.

Additionally, businesses must also follow the same compensation, stock repurchase, and dividend restrictions that apply to direct loan programs under the CARES Act. 

The program is not yet final and will be open for consumer and industry feedback through April 16, 2020.