and held an event at gillette stadium. more than 2, 100 borrowers seeking help attended. twenty servicers and twenty non - profit counseling agencies took part, with staff at the event and on dedicated phone lines. although we do not yet know the outcomes for these homeowners, we are monitoring the results and other federal reserve banks are considering holding similar events. in conclusion, the federal reserve has taken a range of actions to stabilize financial markets and to help borrowers and communities. taken together, these measures should help rebuild confidence in the financial system, increase the liquidity of financial markets, and improve the ability of financial institutions to raise capital from private sources. efforts to stem avoidable foreclosure and help borrowers through h4h and more aggressive modifications, as well as to develop effective strategies for dealing with foreclosed - upon properties, i believe, will also help homeowners and communities. these steps are important to help stabilize our financial institutions and the housing market, and will facilitate a return to more - normal functioning and extension of credit.

elizabeth a duke : foreclosure prevention efforts and market stability testimony of ms elizabeth a duke, member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, before the committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs, us senate, washington dc, 23 october 2008. * * * chairman dodd, senator shelby, and other members of the committee, i appreciate this opportunity to discuss recent actions taken to stabilize financial markets and foreclosure prevention efforts. financial markets have been strained for more than a year, as house prices declined, economic activity slowed, and investors pulled back from risk - taking. these strains intensified in recent weeks. lending to banks and other financial institutions beyond a few days virtually shut down. withdrawals from money market mutual funds and prospects that net asset values would fall further severely disrupted commercial paper and other short - term funding markets. longer - term credit also became much more costly as credit spreads for bonds jumped and interest rates rose. the problems in credit markets and increasing concerns about the state of the economy caused equity prices to swing sharply and decline notably. policymakers here and in other countries have taken a series of extraordinary actions in recent weeks to restore market functioning and improve investor confidence, with the aim ultimately to increase the availability of credit and the value of savings. the federal reserve has continued to address ongoing problems in interbank funding markets by expanding its existing lending facilities, and recently increased the quantity of term funds it auctions to banks and accommodated greater demand for funds from banks and primary dealers. we also increased our currency swap lines with foreign central banks. to alleviate pressures on money market mutual funds and commercial paper issuers, we implemented several important temporary facilities, including one to provide financing to banks to purchase highquality asset - backed commercial paper from money funds, and another to provide a backstop to commercial paper markets by purchasing highly rated commercial paper directly from businesses at a term of three months. on tuesday of this week, we announced another program in which we will provide senior secured financing to conduits that purchase certain highly rated commercial paper and certificates of deposit from money market mutual funds. the financial rescue package recently enacted by congress, the emergency economic stabilization act ( eesa ), provides critically important new tools to address financial market problems. eesa authorized the troubled asset relief program ( tarp ), which allows the treasury to buy troubled assets, to provide guarantees, and to inject capital to strengthen the balance sheets of financial institutions. as provided in the act, the