Cruel and Unusual Circumstances: The Fed’s Use and Misuse of Penalty Rates
After a political and legislative showdown at the end of 2020, Congress closed the Fed’s most novel Section 13(3) emergency lending facilities—the ones aimed most directly at Main Street. These facilities—supported by Treasury funds allocated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act—lent only a fraction of their stated maximum lending limits, leaving many criticizing the programs’ overly punitive… Read More »
