Staff Reports
COVID Response: The Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility
Number 978
September 2021

JEL classification: G0, G2, G21, G23, G28

Authors: Desi Volker

To bolster the effectiveness of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Federal Reserve, with the backing of the Secretary of the Treasury, established the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF). The facility was intended to supply liquidity to financial institutions participating in the PPP and thereby provide relief to small businesses and help them maintain payroll. In this article, we lay out the background and rationale for the creation of the facility, cover the salient features of the PPP and the PPPLF, and analyze the facility’s loan take-up. Our findings suggest that the PPPLF played an important role in expanding the supply of credit to smaller banks and nondepository institutions and that these institutions were more likely to originate PPP loans to businesses on the smaller end of the scale.

This paper was prepared for an upcoming issue of the Economic Policy Review and a related New York Fed conference, “Implications of Federal Reserve Actions in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Available only in PDF
Author Disclosure Statement(s)
Desi Volker
The author declares that she has no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Prior to circulation, this paper was reviewed in accordance with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York review policy, available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/index.html.
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Statement. You can learn more about how we use cookies by reviewing our Privacy Statement.   Close