By Nick Timiraos | Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve will expand loan offerings and qualification rules for its forthcoming $600 billion lending effort designed to reach small and midsize businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said Thursday.
The Main Street Lending Program, unveiled earlier this month, will now allow larger businesses to participate in the program, and it will relax minimum loan amounts to help more small businesses.
Under the program, businesses can solicit loans of up to four years from banks at below-market rates. Unlike loans under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, these must be repaid, but payments can be deferred in their first year.
“The Fed’s loosening of the Main Street Lending Program requirements is positive news for small and mid-size businesses who may not qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program or other federal stimulus programs, or for those businesses that need access to additional capital.”~Dan Gauthier, Attorney at Rose Law Group
