Minneapolis Fed Exec Talks About Recovery

Banks, Harley Participated in Fed Programs

When the Federal Reserve unleashed a barrage of programs in 2008 to try to prevent the collapse of the financial system, a handful of Wisconsin firms – mostly banks, but the state’s perhaps best-known company as well – opted in. Of the more than 21,000 loans and other transactions the Fed made during the financial crisis, at least nine state financial institutions – including Wisconsin’s two biggest banks – and Milwaukee motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. used some of the emergency measures. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

Opinion: Discontinue Interest on Bank Reserves

Consumer Survey Results Released

Marquette Professor Named to Fed Council

Money Smart Week Focuses on Spending Less

Alice Wood, founder and president of Wealth Watchers International, is working toward a simple goal: to help people spend less than they make. She’s the featured speaker at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 2010, at the Oshkosh North High School Auditorium in honor of Money Smart Week Wisconsin, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and organizations across the state. Read the Oshkosh Northwestern article.

Fed: Banks Ease Small Biz Lending

In a new survey of nationwide bank lending practices, the Federal Reserve found that the country’s largest domestic banks have eased lending standards for small businesses for the first time in nearly four years. Read the Associated Press article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Fed Board Proposal a ‘Travesty,’ Banker Says

A Senate proposal to remove bankers from Federal Reserve boards “is an overreaction to a particular unique situation, and to have bankers removed from these boards is a travesty,” said Mark Hewitt, chief executive of Clear Lake Bank and Trust Co in Iowa and a director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Read the Reuters news story.

Wisconsin’s Problem Ag Loans Increase

More than 8 percent of agricultural loans in the state have “major or severe” repayment problems, and about 11 percent of Wisconsin farmers with existing credit probably will not be able to get new credit lines this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

Fed: Jobless Rate Could Stay High for Years

While the economy is getting better, the jobless rate is expected to remain high – possibly for years – because of financial uncertainty among households and businesses, Federal Reserve policy-makers said when they met in a closed-door session in late January. Read the story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.