After the COVID-19 crisis began, the Federal Reserve quickly announced a number of emergency lending facilities, largely based on programs it first introduced during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-09 (GFC). These programs have varied in size and speed of implementation. Bank reserve balances at the Fed have reached a historic high in recent weeks, exceeding $3 trillion for the first time, suggesting banks could lend much more.

This post discusses the early use of the following Fed lending programs: (1) primary credit through the discount window, (2) central bank swap lines and FIMA repos, (3) the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF), (4) the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF), and (5) the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF).