(Washington) The US Federal Reserve (Fed) confirmed on Wednesday that it was ending a lending program put in place last spring to help banks following the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
In early March, a run on this mid-sized Californian establishment, due to fears over interest rates, quickly transformed into one of the most serious banking crises in recent years.
Several regional banks had collapsed and the event also led to the merger, under pressure, of the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse with its regional rival UBS.
The loan program established by the Fed (Bank Term Funding Program, BTFP) was to help banks repay their creditors during periods of high demand for liquidity, for one year.
It has lent more than $129 billion in 2023, according to the Fed.
On Wednesday, the institution confirmed in a statement that the lending mechanism “will stop granting new loans as planned on March 11. »
“The program will continue to provide loans until this date and is available as an additional source of liquidity for eligible institutions,” the central bank added.
After the crisis subsided last year, US regulators unveiled plans for new rules aimed at preventing cascading collapses in the event of another incident.
The Fed also indicated that banks would still be able to obtain loans through its usual discount window “to meet liquidity needs” once the program ends.