the coming months. conclusion in conclusion, the health of the u. s. economy depends importantly on the vitality of the small business sector, and continued access to credit on competitive terms is central to that vitality. our 2007 report to you indicates that, since our 2002 report, small business access to credit has been robust. credit conditions have no doubt tightened since mid - august, but small businesses seem generally to have been able to retain access to credit. however, the effects of recent events are complex, the data are spotty and mixed, and it is far too early to draw the two components sum to more than 45 percent because some loans are collateralized by both business and personal real estate. any firm conclusions. moreover, the current level of uncertainty about the future is unusually high. thus, the federal reserve will continue to monitor closely the effects of current financial market conditions on small business finances as part of its efforts to ensure that distress in financial markets does not spill over into the broader economy. more generally, i assure you that the continued good health of the small business sector is an important consideration for the federal reserve as we strive to fulfill the dual mandate given us by the congress to promote both price stability and sustainable economic growth.

meant to completely end the new use of libor while allowing a significant portion oflegacy contracts to roll off before the key dollar libor tenors stop publication. three years ago, the arrc estimated that there were approximately $ 200 trillion in outstanding financial contracts using usd libor as a reference rate. the arrc also estimated that more than 80 percent of those contracts would mature by the end of this year. if market participants had stopped new use of libor at that time, we would today have a considerably smaller amount of legacy libor contracts. instead, despite the warnings of the official sector concerning libor, use of usd libor has actually increased in the intervening years. as a result, the arrc now estimates that there are currently almost $ 223 trillion in financial contracts based on usd libor. many of those contracts have better fallback language than was once the case ; the arrc has spent considerable time in recommending more robust fallback language for new libor cash products, and isda has now published its ibor protocol, which has allowed market participants to incorporate more robust fallbacks into legacy derivatives. still, given the sheer size of current exposures, we cannot afford to ignore the problems that an abrupt cessation of usd libor would cause. the path we have laid out — ending new use of libor while providing further time for existing contracts to mature — will give businesses, consumers, and all parties to a contract more certainty that they can count on the original terms of a legacy contract until mid - 2023. the arrc ’ s updated estimates indicate that 60 percent of current libor exposures will mature before mid - 2023. although more would roll off if the end date was further off, the iba has stated clearly that it will not have sufficient panel bank submissions after june 2023 to publish libor on a representative basis. june 2023 represents a realistic outcome that will allow the majority of outstanding contacts to mature. of course, we will also be left with the 40 percent of contracts that will not mature before mid2023, an estimated $ 90 trillion in financial contracts. some of these contracts should already have workable fallback language, but many still have no effective means to replace libor upon its cessation. we continue to believe that legislation is a necessary step to address these contracts. the arrc has proposed legislation with the state of new york, which may be appropriate given that many of the contracts that the arrc