Profiles · Officials · Federal Reserve
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Official · Federal Reserve
- Programs
- PPPLF
- Updated
Identity and role
Jerome H. Powell chaired the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System during the 2020 pandemic shock. The Board he chaired authorized the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF), which let eligible PPP lenders borrow from Federal Reserve Banks against PPP loans pledged as collateral.
Powell was not an SBA operator and did not approve individual PPP loans.
Pandemic relief role
On April 8, 2020, the Board voted to establish the PPPLF as a section 13(3) emergency facility. The Federal Reserve's April 9, 2020 release ("Federal Reserve takes additional actions to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy") described the facility as supplying liquidity to participating financial institutions through term financing backed by PPP loans, with PPP loans taken as collateral at face value. Board Governor Lael Brainard and Vice Chair for Supervision Randal K. Quarles were among the Board members present; Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari administered the PPPLF through the Minneapolis Fed; and Boston Fed President Eric S. Rosengren led the Main Street Lending Program.
The Board expanded the PPPLF on April 30, 2020 to reach additional lenders and to let eligible borrowers pledge purchased whole PPP loans; with that change the facility came to fund SBA-approved nonbank and fintech-partner lenders as well as depository banks. The Board-vote record carries Powell's name on both actions.
Government support / loan record
The PPPLF was government-backed liquidity support to lenders. It gave no personal support to Powell and made no loan to a company he ran. The Fed supplied low-cost term financing against government-guaranteed PPP collateral, which cut the balance-sheet cost of originating or holding PPP loans.
Where they are now
Federal Reserve History and the Board's biography state that Powell served as chair of the Board and FOMC from February 5, 2018 to May 22, 2026. The Board announced that Kevin Warsh took the oath as chair on May 22, 2026. Powell's Board term runs to January 31, 2028.
Sources held in this archive
Original source documents and archived captures
- Federal Reserve Board biography, Jerome H. Powell
- Federal Reserve Board Votes 2020, April 8 and April 30 PPPLF actions
- Federal Reserve PPPLF page
- Federal Reserve, "Federal Reserve takes additional actions to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the eco...
- Federal Reserve, "Kevin Warsh takes oath of office as chairman..." May 22, 2026
Sources
- Federal Reserve, "Federal Reserve takes additional actions to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy" (Apr. 9, 2020): Federal Reserve, April 9, 2020 PPPLF announcement (original: federalreserve.gov · stored capture)
- Federal Reserve PPPLF page: Federal Reserve PPPLF page (original: federalreserve.gov · stored capture)
- Federal Reserve Board Votes 2020, April 8 and April 30 PPPLF actions: Federal Reserve Board Votes 2020, April 8 and April 30 PPPLF actions (original: federalreserve.gov · stored capture)
- Federal Reserve, "Kevin Warsh takes oath of office as chairman..." (May 22, 2026): Federal Reserve, "Kevin Warsh takes oath of office as chairman..." May 22, 2026 (original: federalreserve.gov · stored capture)
- Federal Reserve Board biography, Jerome H. Powell: Federal Reserve Board biography, Jerome H. Powell (original: federalreserve.gov · stored capture)