Federal Reserve leadership said their municipal short-term lending program will be up and running in a matter of weeks, not months, while municipalities forge ahead and price deals to a mostly receptive muni market. In a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing Tuesday, Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Randal Quarles said he expects the Fed’s Municipal Liquidity Facility as well as its Main Street Lending Program to be open in a matter of weeks. Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told Quarles he was concerned on how quickly the Fed could get those programs operating. “I don’t think we’re looking at months, but it would be premature for me to say exactly how many weeks it would be before they will be operational,” Quarles said. “But it is the highest priority of what we’re working on.”
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)
