The Federal Reserve released detailed data yesterday on its first-ever attempt to get loans to midsize businesses, and the figures show that the program is reaching a diverse set of borrowers, the New York Times reported. The numbers run through July 31 and account for $92.2 million in loans, which is about half of what the so-called Main Street program has backed so far, based on more recent data cited by a Fed official last week. The program’s 13 loans through July 31 went to a range of companies — including a dentist, a concrete company, a lighting company, a roofing company and a casino. The smallest loan, for $1.5 million, went to Pablo Alfaro Group, a Florida real estate company. The largest, for $50 million, went to an entity associated with Mount Airy, the Pennsylvania casino. The Main Street program is a new effort for the Fed, and it has gotten off to a rocky start. First announced in late March as part of the Fed’s broad pandemic response package, the program is meant to funnel loans to midsize businesses, especially those who are too big for government small-business loans but too small to tap stock and bond markets to raise money. The Fed is protected against losses on the loans by funding from the Treasury Department, money Congress earmarked to support the Fed’s emergency lending push in its coronavirus response legislation. Lawmakers have questioned why it took so long to get the program running — Main Street did not purchase its first loan until July 15 — and why so little of its $600 billion capacity is being used.
