Daleep Singh: The Federal Reserve's corporate credit facilities - why, how, and for whom

Remarks (via videoconference) by Mr Daleep Singh, Executive Vice President and Head of the Markets Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, 20 October 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

As prepared for delivery

Thank you, Tom, for the invitation to join this event.

As all of you know, in March the Federal Reserve-with backing from the U.S. Treasury-created a set of facilities to purchase corporate credit for the first time in its history. Many observers have credited the facilities with repairing market functioning in the corporate bond market and restoring the ability of many businesses to finance themselves through the pandemic. But my focus today is not the corporate bond market, credit spreads, or Wall Street. Rather, I'd like to connect the dots by explaining why these facilities were necessary to support jobs and the economic recovery on Main Street, and why transparency, access, and accountability were so critical to their implementation.

Before I review the initial success of these programs, I want to acknowledge the painful realities that many firms, employees, and households continue to face. For millions of Americans, it's a long road back to normal.

I should also make it clear that these remarks are my personal views and not necessarily those of the New York Fed or the Federal Reserve System.