Federal Reserve

State and federal officials committed to providing “appropriate regulatory assistance” to banks whose customers may be hurt by the coronavirus outbreak and said prudent measures would not be subject to criticism by examiners.

Sen. Mark Warner led a group of Democratic senators in calling on bank, credit union and GSE regulators to give detailed instructions on helping consumer and commercial borrowers hurt by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The richer they are, the more options clients have to insulate themselves from the coronavirus and its effects.

The markets continue to sink on virus fears, as even a 50 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve last week didn’t turn the markets around. The Fed meets again next week and many see more easing, but will those efforts prevent recession?

The agencies recommend steps banks should take to proactively prevent disruption of operations, minimize contact between staff and customers, and plan for how affected employees reenter the workplace, among other things.

Strong data and reassuring words from a Fed official couldn’t stop market virus fears from spreading.

Even as concern over the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus mounts, the most recent data on area home sales from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service shows the market for Seattle-area residential realty remains hot.

Marc Odo, client portfolio manager at Swan Global Investments, discusses the Federal Reserve’s emergency rate cut, why more easing may not help, the rocky road ahead, and why consumer confidence will be the key indicator to watch. Gary Siegel hosts.

The banking regulators have announced that they are postponing next week’s National Interagency Community Reinvestment Conference because of growing health concerns about the virus outbreak.

Mortgage rates hit their lowest point since Freddie Mac began tracking this data in 1971, as the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 1% after the Federal Open Market Committee's surprise short-term rate cut.