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Analyzing the Efficacy of the Fed's Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility

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This article analyzes the effectiveness of the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF) in stabilizing the US corporate bond market during the COVID-19 pandemic. The SMCCF announcements in March and April 2020 significantly reduced credit spreads across different bond maturities, restoring a more typical upward-sloping yield curve. The Federal Reserve's bond purchases, though relatively small in scale, notably decreased credit spreads for eligible bonds compared to ineligible ones. The study's model suggests that market dynamics, including a rush to sell short-term safe bonds and increased investor risk aversion, contributed to the unusual yield curve inversion during the height of the pandemic. By reducing risk aversion and improving market conditions, the Fed’s actions helped restore a more normal credit curve, particularly in the investment-grade bond segment.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Gilchrist & Bin Wei & Vivian Z. Yue & Egon Zakrajšek, 2024. "Analyzing the Efficacy of the Fed's Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility," Policy Hub, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, vol. 2024(5), pages 1-10, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:a00068:99101
    DOI: 10.29338/ph2024-05
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    1. Nozawa, Yoshio & Qiu, Yancheng, 2021. "Corporate bond market reactions to quantitative easing during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; SMCCF; credit market support facilities; event study; purchase effects; preferred habitat;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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