that transact with several of the facilities. specifically, the new york fed is seeking to establish roles for non - primary dealer counterparties to serve as commercial paper dealers, eligible sellers, and agents for the commercial paper funding facility ( cpff ), the secondary market corporate credit facility ( smccf ), and the term asset - backed securities loan facility ( talf ), respectively. these three facilities currently rely exclusively on the new york fed's primary dealers, but the scale and scope of their activities make them well suited for an expanded counterparty base, particularly as we try to reach broader segments of the economy. this initiative represents a major step forward in our efforts to engage with small - tomidsize broker - dealers, including minority -, women -, and veteran - owned business enterprises ( mw vbes ), as well as smaller businesses and investors that transact with these broker - dealers. indeed, we have explicitly encouraged mw vbes to apply, and i'm pleased to share that just yesterday we announced the addition of seven new broker - dealers for the smccf and two cpff dealers, including several mwvbes. we have planned an open and rolling application process for these roles and intend to name additional counterparties in the weeks ahead. complementing this effort, the new york fed also announced a parallel process last week whereby firms may also apply to become agency cmbs dealers to support the desk's purchases of agency cmbs. in closing, let me finish where i started. in this time of pain and hardship, we have choices to make in how we respond, and the opportunity before us is to create generational opportunities for a broad and inclusive set of businesses to help advance an equitable recovery. i look forward to partnering with you on this work for years to come. 1 1 rajashri chakrabarti and william nober, “ distribution of covid - 19 incidence by geography, race, and income, ” federal reserve bank of new york liberty street economics, june 15, 2020. 2 2 rajashri chakrabarti, william nober, and maxim pinkovskiy, “ are financially distressed areas more affected by covid - 19?, ” federal reserve bank of new york liberty street economics, august 17, 2020. 3 3 daleep singh, “ the fed ’ s emergency facilities : usage, impact, and early lessons, ” remarks at hudson valley pattern for progress, july 8, 2020. 4 4 jerome

payments are being made in a timely way. in addition, we have a new poll about credit and financing for small businesses, the latter are an important source of new jobs. the survey asks firms about credit applications and reasons for not seeking credit. almost 900 regional businesses responded to our may 2011 poll, of which nearly 15 percent were from the upstate region. the next poll will be in january. if you, as part of a small business, would like to participate in our january poll, please pass your card to my colleagues in the audience. next month, we will host a workshop for the new york city metro area ’ s small businesses – to provide information about how they can participate in the global economy and expand their companies by exporting their products and services. the export - import bank, the small business administration and the u. s. department of commerce will be on hand. they will tell participants how to tap demand in the global marketplace and what government programs are available to enhance credit, reduce payment risk and increase lines of working capital. we are also facilitating a “ speed mentoring ” forum in which small businesses will receive feedback on their business plans and advice about applying for financing from a range of finance professionals. in 2012, we ’ re planning similar events in the capital region. we hope to partner with many of you to support the small business sector. as you know, even states as wealthy as new york have large pockets of poverty. so, we target some key initiatives specifically to low - and moderate - income groups. we have worked hard to help neighborhoods that face high foreclosure rates. for the past three years we have provided housing advocates, including the empire justice center, with the latest information on mortgage conditions, via roundtables, presentations and newsletters. to share what we learn about our diverse district, we have a rich website. i invite you to visit newyorkfed. org to explore our highly localized maps and information on small business, credit and housing conditions and even the latest job openings at the new york fed. finally, and crucially, in the aftermath of the financial crisis, we are working with our colleagues in washington, d. c., and at other agencies to help put the nation ’ s financial system on a firmer footing. yet, much remains to be done and we are determined to keep at it. i recognize fully that there can be no return to pre - crisis business as usual – whether on the part of the financial sector