The Federal Reserve released it’s twice–yearly report on financial hazards in it’s 2020 financial stability report warning that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused tremendous human and economic hard-ship across the United States and around the world. They warned on assets if the pandemic worsens.
Federal Reserve 2020 financial stability report Highlights
- Warns financial sector vulnerabilities likely to be significant in near-term
- Pandemic strains on household and business balance sheets likely created fragility’s that last for some time
- Warns banking sector may experience strains as a result of economic and financial stocks Banks so far have been able to meet demand for credit line drawdowns while adding to loan-loss reserves
- Some hedge funds have been severely affected by large asset price declines and volatility, contributing to market dislocations
- Primary dealers struggled to provide intermediation services at peak stress periods asset prices subject to significant declines if pandemic worsens
- Funding markets were less fragile than in financial crisis but still suffered strains required Fed intervention
- High levels of business debt likely to make economic fallout from pandemic worse
- Pandemic poses severe risk to businesses of all sizes and millions of households
- Pandemic to cause a sharp rise in defaults on household debt
- Market debt for long dated treasuries and treasury futures in March fell to record low and has shown only modest improvements since
- Mmortgage servicers under strain from forbearance could lead to less mortgage credit and some failures in the future
- Further dollar appreciation could put additional strains on US firms that rely on exports and supply chains in their operations
- Covid 19 risks, a no deal Brexit, still poses risks to European and US financial systems
Overview
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused tremendous human and economic hard-ship across the United States and around the world . The pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have effectively closed some sectors of the economy since mid-March . Eco-nomic activity in the United States has contracted at an unprecedented pace, and the unem-ployment rate surged to 14 .7 percent in April .
The disruptions to economic activity here and abroad have significantly affected financial conditions and have impaired the flow of credit . Policymakers in the United States and worldwide have taken extraordinary measures to strengthen the recovery once the health crisis passes . The Federal Reserve quickly lowered its policy rate to close to zero to support economic activity and took extraordinary measures to stabilize markets and bolster the flow of credit to households, businesses, and communities . In addition, the U .S . Congress and Administration rapidly enacted fiscal measures to support households and businesses . Taken together, these steps contributed to improved conditions that should boost the economic recovery when social distancing and other public health measures are able to subside .
Against this backdrop, this Financial Stability Report reviews the effect of the economic and market shocks associated with COVID-19 on U .S . financial stability to date and discusses the Federal Reserve’s response . While the financial regulatory reforms adopted since 2008 have substantially increased the resilience of the financial sector, the financial system none-theless amplified the shock, and financial sector vulnerabilities are likely to be significant in the near term . The strains on household and business balance sheets from the economic and financial shocks since March will likely create fragilities that last for some time . Finan-cial institutions—including the banking sector, which had large capital and liquidity buffers before the shock—may experience strains as a result .
Our view on the current level of vulnerabilities is as follows:
1 . Asset valuations. Asset prices have been volatile across many markets . Since their lows in late March and early April, risky asset prices have risen and spreads have narrowed in key markets . Asset prices remain vulnerable to significant price declines should the pandemic take an unexpected course, the economic fallout prove more adverse, or financial system strains reemerge
.2 . Borrowing by businesses and households. Debt owed by businesses had been historically high relative to gross domestic product (GDP) through the beginning of 2020, with the most rapid increases concentrated among the riskiest firms amid weak credit standards . The general decline in revenues associated with the severe reduction in economic activity has weakened the ability of businesses to repay these (and other) obligations . Partly as a 8 overvIewresult, there has been a widespread repricing of credit risk, and the issuance of high-yield corporate bonds and the origination of leveraged loans appear to have slowed apprecia-bly . While household debt was at a moderate level relative to income before the shock, a deterioration in the ability of some households to repay obligations may result in material losses to lenders .
3 . Leverage in the financial sector. Before the pandemic, the largest U .S . banks were strongly capitalized, and leverage at broker-dealers was low; by contrast, measures of leverage at life insurance companies and hedge funds were at the higher ends of their ranges over the past decade . To date, banks have been able to meet surging demand for draws on credit lines while also building loan loss reserves to absorb higher expected defaults . Broker-dealers struggled to provide intermediation services during the acute period of financial stress . At least some hedge funds appear to have been severely affected by the large asset price declines and increased volatility in February and March, reportedly contributing to market dislocations . All told, the prospect for losses at financial institutions to create pressures over the medium term appears elevated .
4 . Funding risk . In the face of the COVID-19 outbreak and associated financial market tur-moil, funding markets proved less fragile than during the 2007–09 financial crisis . None-theless, significant strains emerged, and emergency Federal Reserve actions were required to stabilize short-term funding markets .The outlook for the pandemic and economic activity is uncertain . In the near term, risks associated with the course of COVID-19 and its effect on the U .S . and global economies remain high . In addition, there is potential for stresses to interact with preexisting vulnera-bilities stemming from financial system or fiscal weaknesses in Europe, China, and emerging market economies (EMEs) . These risks have the potential to interact with the vulnerabilities identified in this report and pose additional risks to the U .S . financial system
Sources of Medium to Longer Term Risk
Fiinally, geopolitical tensions were cited frequently as a medium- to long-term risk. A few contacts noted that the COVID-19 outbreak could amplify tensions and accelerate a shift away from multilater-alism. Respondents also highlighted the risk of heightened trade tensions and the possibility that the virus and its fallout could accelerate global leadership changes and amplify political uncertainty
Source: Federal Reserve Financial Stability Report
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