Clifford Chance
Coronavirus: The US Cares Act and the Main Street Lending Program
April 14, 2020
On April 9, the Federal Reserve announced $2.3 trillion of new or expanded facilities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that was enacted by the US Congress and signed into law by the President just two weeks earlier. Through one of the new programs, the Main Street Lending Program, the central bank will make available as much as $600 billion in Eligible Loans (as defined below) for US businesses with up to 10,000 employees or up to $2.5 billion in 2019 annual revenues. The Main Street Lending Program is intended to provide financial support to small and mid-sized business that were in good financial health before the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, subject to certain eligibility conditions and other restrictions. The program creates two facilities – one for new Eligible Loans, and one to upsize existing Eligible Loans.
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