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Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
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Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Monthly Report on Credit and Liquidity Programs
and the Balance Sheet

April 2012 (1.36MB PDF)

Lending Facilities to Support Overall Market Liquidity

Lending to Depository Institutions

Recent Developments

  • Credit provided to depository institutions through the discount window remains generally around the levels seen prior to 2007. As presented in table 6, the lendable value of collateral pledged by depository institutions with discount window loans outstanding on March 28, 2012, was less than $500 million; discount window credit outstanding on that date amounted to $4 million.

Background

The discount window helps to relieve liquidity strains for individual depository institutions and for the banking system as a whole by providing a source of funding in times of need. Much of the statutory framework that governs lending to depository institutions is contained in Section 10B of the Federal Reserve Act, as amended. The general policies that govern discount window lending are set forth in the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation A.

Depository institutions have, since 2003, had access to three types of discount window credit: primary credit, secondary credit, and seasonal credit. Primary credit is available to depository institutions in generally sound financial condition with few administrative requirements. Secondary credit may be provided to depository institutions that do not qualify for primary credit, subject to review by the lending Reserve Bank. Seasonal credit provides short-term funds to smaller depository institutions that experience regular seasonal swings in loans and deposits.

Table 4. Discount window credit outstanding to depository institutions
Daily average borrowing for each class of borrower over four weeks ending March 28, 2012

Type and size of borrower Average number of borrowers1 Average borrowing
($ billions)2
Commercial banks3
   Assets: more than $50 billion * **
   Assets: $5 billion to $50 billion * **
   Assets: $250 million to $5 billion 3 **
   Assets: less than $250 million 4 **
Thrift institutions and credit unions 1 **
Total 8 **
Note: Unaudited. Includes primary, secondary, and seasonal credit. Size categories based on total domestic assets from Call Report data as of December 31, 2011. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.
* Fewer than one borrower.Return to table
** Less than $500 million.Return to table
1. Average daily number of depository institutions with credit outstanding. Over this period, a total of 162 institutions borrowed. Return to table
2. Average daily borrowing by all depositories in each category. Return to table
3. Includes branches and agencies of foreign banks. Return to table

Table 5. Concentration of discount window credit outstanding to depository institutions
For four weeks ending March 28, 2012

Rank by amount of borrowing Number of borrowers Daily average borrowing
($ billions)
Top five 5 *
Other 3 *
Total 8 *
Note: Unaudited. Amount of primary, secondary, and seasonal credit extended to the top five, next five, and other borrowers on each day, as ranked by daily average borrowing. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.
* Less than $500 million.Return to table

On August 17, 2007, in order to promote orderly market functioning, the Federal Reserve narrowed the spread between the primary credit rate (generally referred to as the discount rate) and the FOMC’s target federal funds rate to 50 basis points and began to allow the provision of primary credit for terms as long as 30 days. On March 16, 2008, the Federal Reserve further narrowed the spread between the primary credit rate and the target federal funds rate to 25 basis points, and increased the maximum maturity of primary credit loans to 90 days.

On November 17, 2009, in response to improved financial conditions, the Federal Reserve announced that the maximum maturity on primary credit loans would be reduced to 28 days effective January 14, 2010. On February 18, 2010, the Federal Reserve increased the spread between the primary credit rate and the top of the target range for the federal funds rate to 50 basis points, effective February 19, 2010. The Federal Reserve also announced that, effective March 18, 2010, the typical maximum maturity of primary credit loans would be shortened to overnight. These changes represented further normalization of the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities and did not signal any change in the outlook for the economy or for monetary policy.

On August 6, 2010, the Federal Reserve announced changes to its practices for disclosure of discount window lending information in accordance with the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. For discount window loans extended to depository institutions on or after July 21, 2010, the Federal Reserve will publicly disclose certain information about the transaction approximately two years after the loan is extended. The disclosure will include the name and identifying details of the depository institution, the amount borrowed, the interest rate paid, and information identifying the types and amount of collateral pledged. More detail on these changes is reported on the Federal Reserve’s Discount Window website at www.frbdiscountwindow.org. Leaving the Board

In extending credit to depository institutions, the Federal Reserve closely monitors the financial condition of borrowers. Monitoring the financial condition of depository institutions is a four-step process designed to minimize the risk of loss to the Federal Reserve posed by weak or failing depository institutions. The first step is monitoring, on an ongoing basis, the safety and soundness of all depository institutions that access or may access the discount window and the payment services provided by the Federal Reserve. The second step is identifying institutions whose condition, characteristics, or affiliation would present higher-than-acceptable risk to the Federal Reserve in the absence of controls on their access to Federal Reserve lending facilities and other Federal Reserve services. The third step is communicating—to staff within the Federal Reserve System and to other supervisory agencies, if and when necessary—relevant information about those institutions identified as posing higher risk. The fourth step is implementing appropriate measures to mitigate the risks posed by such entities.

At the heart of the condition-monitoring process is an internal rating system that provides a framework for identifying institutions that may pose undue risks to the Federal Reserve. The rating system relies mostly on information from each institution’s primary supervisor, including CAMELS ratings, to identify potentially problematic institutions and classify them according to the severity of the risk they pose to the Federal Reserve.3 Having identified institutions that pose a higher risk, the Federal Reserve then puts in place a standard set of risk controls that become increasingly stringent as the risk posed by an institution grows; individual Reserve Banks may implement additional risk controls to further mitigate risk if they deem it necessary.

Collateral

All extensions of discount window credit by the Federal Reserve must be secured to the satisfaction of the lending Reserve Bank by “acceptable collateral.” Assets accepted as collateral are assigned a lendable value deemed appropriate by the Reserve Bank; lendable value is determined as the market price of the asset, less a haircut. When a market price is not available, a haircut may be applied to the outstanding balance or a valuation based on an asset’s cash flow. Haircuts reflect credit risk and, for traded assets, the historical volatility of the asset’s price and the liquidity of the market in which the asset is traded; the Federal Reserve’s haircuts are generally in line with typical market practice. The Federal Reserve applies larger haircuts, and thus assigns lower lendable values, to assets for which no market price is available relative to comparable assets for which a market price is available. A borrower may be required to pledge additional collateral if its financial condition weakens. Collateral is pledged by depository institutions under the terms and conditions specified in the Federal Reserve Banks’ standard lending agreement, Operating Circular No. 10, available at www.frbservices.org/files/regulations/pdf/operating_circular_10.pdf. Leaving the Board

Discount window loans are generally made with recourse to the borrower beyond the pledged collateral. Nonetheless, collateral plays an important role in mitigating the credit risk associated with these extensions of credit. The Federal Reserve generally accepts as collateral for discount window loans any assets that meet regulatory standards for sound asset quality. This category of assets includes most performing loans and most investment-grade securities, although for some types of securities (including commercial mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, collateralized loan obligations, and certain non-dollar-denominated foreign securities) only AAA-rated securities are accepted. An institution may not pledge as collateral any instruments that the institution or its affiliates have issued. To ensure that they can borrow from the Federal Reserve should the need arise, many depository institutions that do not have an outstanding discount window loan nevertheless routinely pledge collateral.

The Federal Reserve periodically reviews its collateral valuation practices. The most recent changes to the lending margins on discount window collateral took effect on October 19, 2009, and reflected the results of a broad-based review, which began before the financial crisis, of methodology and data sources. For more information on collateral margins, refer to the Discount Window and Payments System Risk public website, www.frbdiscountwindow.org. Leaving the Board

As presented in table 8, depository institutions that borrow from the Federal Reserve generally maintain collateral in excess of their current borrowing levels.

Table 6. Lendable value of collateral pledged by borrowing depository institutions
Billions of dollars, as of March 28, 2012

Type of collateral Lendable value
Loans
   Commercial *
   Residential mortgage *
   Commercial real estate *
   Consumer 0
Securities
   U.S. Treasury/agency *
   Municipal *
   Corporate market instruments 0
   MBS/CMO: agency-guaranteed *
   MBS/CMO: other 0
   Asset-backed 0
   International (sovereign, agency, municipal, and corporate) 0
Other
   Term Deposit Facility deposits 0
Total *
Note: Unaudited. Collateral pledged by borrowers of primary, secondary, and seasonal credit as of the date shown. Total primary, secondary, and seasonal credit on this date was $4 million. The lendable value of collateral pledged by all depository institutions, including those without any outstanding loans, was $1,375 billion. Lendable value is value after application of appropriate haircuts. Components may not sum to total because of rounding.
* Less than $500 million. Return to table

Table 7. Lendable value of securities pledged by depository institutions by rating
Billions of dollars, as of March 28, 2012

Type of security and rating Lendable value
 
U.S. Treasury, agency, and agency-guaranteed securities 239
Other securities
   AAA 118
   Aa/AA1 71
   A2 42
   Baa/BBB3 16
   Other investment-grade4 35
Total 521
Note: Unaudited. Lendable value for all institutions that have pledged collateral, including those that were not borrowing on the date shown. Lendable value is value after application of appropriate haircuts. Components may not sum to total because of rounding.
1. Includes short-term securities with A-1+ or F1+ rating or MIG 1 or SP-1+ municipal bond rating. Return to table
2. Includes short-term securities with A-1 or F1 rating or SP-1 municipal bond rating. Return to table
3. Includes short-term securities with A-2, P-2, A-3, or P-3 rating. Return to table
4. Determined based on credit review by Reserve Bank. Return to table

Table 8. Discount window credit outstanding to borrowing depository institutions--percent of collateral used
As of March 28, 2012

Percent of collateral used Number of borrowers Total borrowing
($ billions)
More than 0 and less than 25 7 *
25 to 50 0 0
50 to 75 0 0
75 to 90 0 0
More than 90 0 0
Total 7 *
Note: Unaudited. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.
*Less than $500 million.

Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility

Recent Developments

  • As of March 28, 2012, the amount of TALF loans outstanding and the number of TALF borrowers had declined somewhat from their February 2012 levels. Voluntary prepayments by borrowers accounted for nearly all of the decline in the number of TALF borrowers. TALF LLC, a limited liability company (LLC) formed to purchase and manage assets received by the FRBNY from the TALF program, remains in operation, but as of March 28, 2012, TALF LLC had purchased no assets from the FRBNY.

Background

On November 25, 2008, the Federal Reserve announced the creation of the TALF under the authority of Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. The TALF is a funding facility under which the FRBNY was authorized to extend up to $200 billion of credit to holders of eligible asset-backed securities (ABS).4 The TALF was intended to assist financial markets in accommodating the credit needs of consumers and businesses of all sizes by facilitating the issuance of ABS collateralized by a variety of consumer and business loans; it was also intended to improve market conditions for ABS more generally. TALF loans backed by commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) or by ABS backed by government guaranteed loans have maturities of up to five years; all other TALF loans have three-year maturities. Using funds authorized under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the Treasury committed to provide $20 billion in credit protection to the FRBNY in connection with the TALF to support the $200 billion of authorized lending value under the program. This commitment was reduced to $4.3 billion in July 2010 to reflect the fact that only $43 billion of TALF loans were outstanding when the program was closed to new lending.

Eligible collateral for TALF loans included U.S. dollar-denominated ABS backed by student loans, auto loans, credit card loans, equipment loans, floorplan loans, insurance premium finance loans, loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), residential mortgage servicing advances, or commercial mortgages. At the time a TALF loan was extended, all eligible collateral was required to have a credit rating in the highest investment-grade rating category from two or more eligible nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) and could not have a credit rating below the highest investment-grade rating category from an eligible NRSRO. Certain collateral also had to pass an internal risk assessment by the FRBNY.

Additionally, all or substantially all of the credit exposures underlying eligible ABS were required to be exposures to U.S.-domiciled obligors or with respect to real property located in the United States or its territories. Except for ABS for which the underlying credit exposures are SBA-guaranteed loans, eligible newly issued ABS must have been issued on or after January 1, 2009. Eligible legacy CMBS must have been issued before January 1, 2009, must be senior in payment priority to all other interests in the underlying pool of commercial mortgages, and must meet certain other criteria designed to protect the Federal Reserve and the Treasury from credit risk. Collateral would not be accepted from a particular borrower if the collateral was backed by loans originated or securitized by that borrower or its affiliate except in very limited circumstances.

The loans provided through the TALF were designed to be limited in recourse to the collateral, generally allowing borrowers the option of surrendering the collateral to the FRBNY in full satisfaction of the TALF loan. The FRBNY’s loan is secured by the ABS collateral, with the FRBNY lending an amount equal to the market value of the ABS, less a haircut. The haircut is a buffer which protects the FRBNY against a decline in the collateral’s value. The Federal Reserve set initial haircuts for each type of eligible collateral to reflect an assessment of the riskiness and maturity of the various types of eligible ABS. Breakdowns of TALF collateral by underlying loan type and credit rating are presented in tables 10 and 11, respectively.

Table 9. TALF: Number of borrowers and loans outstanding
As of March 28, 2012

Lending program Number of borrowers Borrowing
($ billions)1
Non-CMBS 37 6
CMBS 18 1
Total 44 7
Note: Unaudited. "Number of borrowers" may not sum to total because borrowers may be included in more than one category. "Borrowing" amounts may not sum to total because of rounding.
1. Book value. Return to table

Table 10. TALF collateral by underlying loan type
Billions of dollars, as of March 28, 2012

Type of collateral Value
By underlying loan type
Auto *
Commercial  mortgages 2
   Newly issued 0
   Legacy 2
Credit card 2
Equipment *
Floorplan 1
Premium finance 1
Servicing advances *
Small business *
Student loan 2
Total 8
Note: Unaudited. Components may not sum to total because of rounding. Data represent the face value of collateral.
* Less than $500 million. Return to table

Table 11. TALF collateral by rating
Billions of dollars, as of March 28, 2012

Type of collateral Value
Asset-backed securities with minimum rating of:1  
   AAA/Aaa 8
Total 8
Note: Unaudited. Data represent the face value of collateral.
1. Eligible ABS collateral for the TALF was required to have a credit rating in the highest investment-grade rating category from at least two eligible NRSROs and could not have a credit rating below the highest investment-grade rating category from an eligible NRSRO. When pledged collateral is downgraded below the highest investment-grade rating, existing loans against the collateral remain outstanding. Return to table

Consistent with previous announcements, the Federal Reserve closed the TALF for new loan extensions against newly issued CMBS on June 30, 2010, and for new loans against all other types of collateral on March 31, 2010. All TALF loans were extended by the FRBNY and will mature over the next several years, with all loans maturing no later than March 30, 2015.

TALF LLC

TALF LLC was formed to purchase and manage any ABS that might be surrendered by a TALF borrower or otherwise claimed by the FRBNY in connection with its enforcement rights to the TALF collateral. In certain limited circumstances, TALF LLC may also purchase TALF program loans from the FRBNY. TALF LLC has committed to purchase, for a fee, all such assets at a price equal to the TALF loan, plus accrued but unpaid interest.

Purchases of these securities are funded first through the fees received by TALF LLC and any interest TALF LLC has earned on its investments. In the event that such funding proves insufficient, the TARP will provide additional subordinated debt funding to TALF LLC to finance up to $4.3 billion of asset purchases. Subsequently, the FRBNY will finance any additional purchases of securities by providing senior debt funding to TALF LLC. Thus, the TARP funds provide credit protection to the FRBNY. Financial information on TALF LLC is reported weekly in tables 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 of the H.4.1 statistical release. As of March 28, 2012, TALF LLC had purchased no assets from the FRBNY.

Table 12A. Issuers of non-CMBS that collateralize outstanding TALF loans
As of March 28, 2012

Issuers
Ally Master Owner Trust
American Express Credit Account Master Trust
AmeriCredit Automobile Receivables Trust 2009-1
ARI Fleet Lease Trust 2010-A
Bank of America Auto Trust 2009-1
CarMax Auto Owner Trust 2009-A
Chase Issuance Trust
Chesapeake Funding LLC
Chrysler Financial Auto Securitization Trust 2009-A
Citibank Omni Master Trust
CNH Equipment Trust 2009-B
CNH Wholesale Master Note Trust
Discover Card Execution Note Trust
FIFC Premium Funding LLC
First National Master Note Trust
Ford Credit Floorplan Master Owner Trust A
GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust
GE Dealer Floorplan Master Note Trust
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Trust 2009-2
Honda Auto Receivables 2009-2 Owner Trust
Marlin Leasing Receivables XII LLC
OCWEN Servicer Advance Receivables Funding Company II LTD.
PFS Financing Corp.
SLC Private Student Loan Trust 2009-A
SLC Private Student Loan Trust 2010-B
SLM Private Education Loan Trust 2009-CT
SLM Private Education Loan Trust 2009-D
SLM Private Education Loan Trust 2010-A
U.S. Small Business Administration
WHEELS SPV, LLC
World Financial Network Credit Card Master Note Trust
World Omni Auto Receivables Trust 2009-A

Table 12B. Issuers of newly issued CMBS that collateralize outstanding TALF loans
As of March 28, 2012

Issuers1
 
1. There are no outstanding TALF loans collateralized with newly issued CMBS.

Table 12C. Issuers of legacy CMBS that collateralize outstanding TALF loans
As of March 28, 2012

Issuers
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Inc. Series 2005-3
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Inc. Series 2005-5
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust 2006-1
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust 2006-5
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-1
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-2
Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-3
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2004-PWR4
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2004-TOP16
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2005-PWR7
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2005-PWR10
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2006-PWR11
Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2007-PWR16
CD 2006-CD3 Mortgage Trust
CD 2007-CD4 Commercial Mortgage Trust
Comm 2004-LNB2 Mortgage Trust
Comm 2005-C6 Mortgage Trust
Comm 2006-C7 Mortgage Trust
Comm 2006-C8 Mortgage Trust
Commercial Mortgage Trust 2005-GG3
Commercial Mortgage Trust 2005-GG5
Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-GG9
Credit Suisse Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2007-C1
Credit Suisse Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2007-C2
Credit Suisse Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2007-C4
CS First Boston Mortgage Securities 2004-C1
CSFB Commercial Mortgage Trust 2005-C3
GE Commercial Mortgage Corporation Series 2005-C1
GE Commercial Mortgage Corporation Series 2005-C4
GE Commercial Mortgage Corporation Series 2007-C1 Trust
GS Mortgage Securities Corporation II Series 2005-GG4
GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2006-GG6
GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2006-GG8
GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2007-GG10
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. Series 2004-C2
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. Series 2004-C3
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. Series 2005-CIBC13
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. Series 2005-LDP5
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2006-CIBC15
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2006-LDP9
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2007-LDP11
J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2007-LDP12
LB Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-C3
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2004-C1
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2004-C7
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2005-C2
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-C1
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-C2
LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-C6
Merrill Lynch Mortgage Trust 2007-C1
ML-CFC Commercial Mortgage Trust 2006-4
ML-CFC Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-5
ML-CFC Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-8
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2005-HQ6
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2005-IQ9
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2006-TOP21
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2007-IQ14
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2007-IQ15
Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2007-TOP27
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2005-C19
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2005-C20
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2006-C28
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2006-C29
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2007-C32
Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2007-C33

3. CAMELS (Capital, Assets, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity) is a rating system employed by banking regulators to assess the soundness of commercial banks and thrifts. Similar rating systems are used for other types of depository institutions. Return to text

4. For additional information on the TALF, refer to www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_lendingother.htm. Return to text

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Last update: August 2, 2013