Federal Reserve

The central bank said it was establishing the Commercial Paper Funding Facility to "support the flow of credit to households and businesses."

There are several forbearance measures the agencies can take now to keep banks from failing in a downturn triggered by the coronavirus.

The Federal Reserve's most recent economic-stimulus effort could reduce disparities between a rally in Treasurys and a relative slump in mortgage-backed securities that contributed to higher average home-lending rates last week.

The municipal finance industry is dealing with minute-by-minute news of state-wide school closures, shuttered restaurants, curfews and canceled events. New issues are increasingly being put on the day-to-day calendar.

The agencies were up and running Monday but have taken steps to allow employees to work from home.

Bankers say they understand the need for an extraordinary government response to the coronavirus outbreak, but worry that even slashing interest rates won’t stimulate demand.

The Federal Open Market Committee lowered the fed funds rate target to between zero and ¼% in an emergency meeting on Sunday, but while analysts say the move was needed, they feel it will take more to offset the effects of COVID-19.

The actions include cutting the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25% and other steps to ease economic stress from the spread of the coronavirus.

The central bank is trying to get ahead of possible funding disruptions caused by the coronavirus. Policymakers want to avert a repeat of September, when short-term borrowing costs spiked amid imbalances in supply and demand for cash.

There may only be so much institutions can do if the outbreak affects borrowers' ability to repay credit.