Main Street Lending Program: When Will It Launch?

On April 8, 2020, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve first announced their new joint "Main Street Lending Program" intended to provide support lending to small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve updated and revised term sheets for three programs, the Main Street New Loan Facility, the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility and the Main Street Priority Loan Facility, and also issued a FAQ, noting that the program had still not launched. As of May 22, 2020, the Main Street Lending Program has still not launched and the big question is when will it launch?

In testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on May 19, Chairman Powell of the Federal Reserve said that the Main Street Lending Program (along with a municipal lending and other programs) would be up and running by the end of May or in the first week of June.