board broadens program of support for the flow of credit to households and businesses by establishing a money market mutual fund liquidity facility ( mmlf ), march 18, 2020. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches 7 for announcements of the various programs, see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve board announces establishment of a commercial paper funding facility ( cpff ) to support the flow of credit to households and businesses, march 17, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve board announces establishment of a primary dealer credit facility ( pdcf ) to support the credit needs of households and businesses, march 17, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve board broadens program of support for the flow of credit to households and businesses by establishing a money market mutual fund liquidity facility ( mmlf ), march 18, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve announces extensive new measures to support the economy, march 23, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve will establish a facility to facilitate lending to small businesses via the small business administration ’ s paycheck protection program ( ppp ) by providing term financing backed by ppp loans, april 6, 2020 ; and board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve takes additional actions to provide up to $ 2. 3 trillion in loans to support the economy, april 9, 2020. 8 see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve takes additional actions to provide up to $ 2. 3 trillion in loans to support the economy, april 9, 2020. 9 for announcements of the various programs, see board of governors of the federal reserve system, coordinated central bank action to enhance the provision of u. s. dollar liquidity, march 15, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve announces the establishment of temporary u. s. dollar liquidity arrangements with other central banks, march 19, 2020 ; board of governors of the federal reserve system, coordinated central bank action to further enhance the provision of u. s. dollar liquidity, march 20, 2020 ; and board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve announces establishment of a temporary fima repo facility to help support the smooth functioning of financial markets, march 31, 2020. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

but, now, social distancing and other restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic are causing severe, rapid declines in jobs and income. unprecedented numbers have filed for unemployment insurance in the past several weeks alone, and we know that more economic pain is still to come. the reality is that the full scale of the economic consequences is still unknown. the economic distress and the extraordinary uncertainty about the future course of the pandemic have set off a tidal wave of flows of money away from riskier investments to the safety of cash. this sudden shift led to an evaporation of liquidity and breakdowns in the functioning of key 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches financial markets. this includes the market for u. s. treasury securities, the cornerstone of the global financial system. these developments, if left unchecked, threaten to starve our economy of the credit that it badly needs during this difficult time. the response last month, as the risks posed by the coronavirus became increasingly apparent, the federal reserve took swift and decisive action to support the economy and stabilize financial markets. in two unscheduled meetings in the first half of march, the federal open market committee ( fomc ) quickly brought the target range for the federal funds rate to near zero. 1 the fomc also signaled that it expects to keep interest rates at this level until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve the fed ’ s maximum employment and price stability goals. 2 these monetary policy actions serve two purposes. first, low interest rates make it easier for households and businesses to meet their borrowing needs during this time of economic stress. second, they foster broader financial conditions that will help promote the rebound in spending and investment needed to return the economy to full strength. the new york fed the new york fed has important and unique responsibilities in supporting liquid and wellfunctioning financial markets. working alongside our colleagues in the federal reserve and other agencies, we are taking rapid and significant actions to supply liquidity and to stabilize critical parts of our financial system. we are conducting large - scale repo operations to assure ample liquidity in money markets. 3 in addition, at the direction of the fomc, we are purchasing sizable quantities of u. s. treasury securities and agency residential and commercial mortgagebacked securities to improve functioning in these critical markets. 4 to put the current situation in context, we are running more open market operations, for greater sums,