Fed mulling lending program for colleges, medical nonprofits, Harker says

The Federal Reserve is thinking carefully about setting up a method to provide loans to colleges, universities and nonprofit medical institutions, said Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker on Thursday. Harker was president of the University of Delaware before joining the Fed in 2015. "As a recovering academic and university president myself, I'm acutely aware of the stress this crisis is inflicting on, for instance, the higher education sector," Harker said in a speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The Fed has set up nine lending facilities that will assist companies, cities, and states grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. Harker said the key to the economy's future is to make sure the reopening of the economy is done "intelligently."

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