under its 13 ( 3 ) authority are for times of emergency, such as the ones we have been living through. when economic and financial conditions improve, we will put these tools back in the toolbox. the final area where we took steps was in bank regulation. the board made several adjustments, many temporary, to encourage banks to use their positions of strength to support households and businesses. unlike the 2008 financial crisis, banks entered this period with substantial capital and liquidity buffers and improved risk - management and operational resiliency. as a result, they have been well positioned to cushion the financial shocks we are seeing. in contrast to the 2008 crisis when banks pulled back from lending and amplified the economic shock, in this crisis they have greatly expanded loans to customers and have helped support the economy. 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the federal reserve has been entrusted with an important mission, and we have taken unprecedented steps in very rapid fashion over the past few months. in doing so, we embrace our responsibility to the american people to be as transparent as possible. with regard to the facilities backed by equity from the cares act, we have conducted broad outreach and sought public input that has been crucial in their development. for example, in response to comments received, the treasury and the federal reserve have made a number of changes to expand the scope of the main street lending program to cover a broader range of borrowers and to increase the flexibility of loan terms. and we are now disclosing and will continue to disclose, on a monthly basis, names and details of participants in each facility ; amounts borrowed and interest rate charged ; and overall costs, revenues, and fees for each of these facilities. we recognize that our actions are only part of a broader public - sector response. congress ’ s passage of the cares act was critical in enabling the federal reserve and the treasury department to establish many of the lending programs. the cares act and other legislation provide direct help to people, businesses, and communities. this direct support can make a critical difference not just in helping families and businesses in a time of need, but also in limiting long - lasting damage to our economy. we understand that the work of the federal reserve touches communities, families, and businesses across the country. everything we do is in service to our public mission. we are committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy and to help assure that the recovery from this difficult period will be as robust as possible. thank you. i ’

the federal reserve has published all of the legal documents that borrowers and lenders will need to sign under the program and lender registration began on june 15. loan participations will be purchased soon. additionally, the federal reserve recently sought feedback on a proposal to expand the main street program to include loans made to small and medium - sized nonprofit organizations, such as hospitals and universities. nonprofits provide vital services around the country, and the program would likewise offer them support. while businesses in certain sectors that were particularly hard hit by the pandemic have reported continued difficulty in accessing credit, the small business administration ’ s paycheck protection program ( ppp ), which draws from existing bank lines, has apparently met the immediate credit needs of many small businesses. in the months ahead, main street loans may prove a valuable resource for firms that were in sound financial condition prior to the pandemic. to bolster the effectiveness of the small business administration ’ s ppp, on april 16, the federal reserve launched the paycheck protection program liquidity facility. the facility supplies liquidity to lenders backed by their ppp loans to small businesses and has the capacity to lend up to the full amount of the ppp. as of last week, the facility held over $ 65 billion in outstanding term loans to participating financial institutions. the most recent monthly survey from the national federation of independent business released in may indicates that small businesses have been able to meet their funding needs in recent months largely due to the ppp. 2 to help state and local governments better manage cash flow pressures in order to continue to serve households and businesses in their communities, the federal reserve, together with the treasury department, established the municipal liquidity facility ( mlf ). the mlf is backed by $ 35 billion of cares act equity and has the capacity to purchase up to $ 500 billion of short - term debt directly from u. s. states, counties, cities, and certain multistate entities. the facility became operational on may 26, and, to date, the mlf has purchased $ 1. 2 billion worth of short - term municipal debt. with the mlf and other facilities in place as a backstop to the private market, many parts of the municipal bond market have significantly recovered from the unprecedented stress experienced earlier this year. municipal bond yields have declined considerably, issuance has been robust over the past two months, and market conditions have improved. 3 the tools that the federal reserve is using