Economics

Fed Has Firepower to Do More After $2.3 Trillion Aid Blitz

Central bank could potentially lever another $250 billion
Reaching beyond its traditional bounds carries risk for Fed

WATCH: Powell said the Fed is committed to acting “forcefully” to help the U.S. economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Rich Miller, Christopher Condon, and Craig Torres

April 9, 2020 at 9:38 PM UTC

Updated on

April 10, 2020 at 5:47 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The Federal Reserve may not be done with its all-out blitz to help the U.S. economy survive a coronavirus-induced shutdown, even after launching an unprecedented $2.3 trillion in lending programs.

The central bank used up only about 40% of the as much as $454 billion in seed capital that Congress provided it in extending help to small and mid-sized businesses, state and local governments and some risky corners of the financial markets on Thursday.