Washington, D.C. — Bank Policy Institute President and CEO Greg Baer issued the following statement in response to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s announcement that it began accepting lender registrations this morning.
BPI banks have taken extraordinary action to meet the needs of their customers and to help the economy in response to the ongoing health and economic crisis. Banks have extended hundreds of billions of dollars in new business lending since the onset of the crisis, and the Main Street Lending Program offers another financing option for creditworthy businesses. It is important to note that the Main Street Lending Program is not a grant or loan forgiveness program but a loan program under which borrowers are expected to repay the loans. Under the architecture of the program, banks are required to employ traditional underwriting and bear the full loss from their portion of the loan. Whether through existing bank credit or other government programs, many creditworthy businesses have already found access to the credit they needed to overcome the effects of the health and economic crisis, so it is difficult to predict how large the program will turn out to be in its current iteration.
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About the Bank Policy Institute.
The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) is a nonpartisan public policy, research and advocacy group, representing the nation’s leading banks and their customers. Our members include universal banks, regional banks and the major foreign banks doing business in the United States. Collectively, they employ almost 2 million Americans, make nearly half of the nation’s small business loans, and are an engine for financial innovation and economic growth.
