Powell Defends Loan Programmes as "Very Successful"

Q: What is the next tool you are expected to roll out, if you're not out of ammo? State/local program? Any more that can be done with another design of program for small biz etc?

- A: We're looking at a couple of tools mainly. There's a number of dimensions in which we can adjust our asset purchase program, if we deem it to be appropriate. Right now we like the job it's doing. If the facilities are extended, we can certainly look at new facilities. If things deteriorate, that would be the case where you'd want to maybe continue the facilities and maybe change them and maybe have new ones, who knows.

But certainly, the facilities have been doing a lot of work and have been very successful, I think, overall in accomplishing that job. So I think there are things we can do, but remember, we've always said this will take a whole of government approach, including healthcare policy and fiscal policy. So if you want to get the economy back as quickly as possible to where we want it to be, then really it should be all of government working together.

The corporate / state and local gov't program / funding market programs have been successful. Main Street is a bigger challenge than all of them. It's very challenging to reach a lot of those companies.