Back to Insights

The Federal Reserve at the Forefront

May 1, 2020 | Commentary

  • As the COVID-19 virus spread across the United States the first policy response consisted primarily of shutting down broad segments of the economy.  Predictably, stock and bond markets sold off dramatically as investors rushed to cash and treasury securities.
  • In the midst of this sell off, credit markets almost seized up completely.  Mutual fund and ETF liquidations pushed dealer inventories up against regulatory and risk limits. Liquidity was almost non-existent even for highly rated corporate credits.  In mid-March the Fed stepped in, buying and lending against a wide range of assets, easing the stress points.  This has allowed the markets to trade and work toward healing, avoiding a complete collapse that could have crippled the capital formation process in this country for years.
  • Equally important through this process is the fiscal response of the Federal government and the spread of the virus itself.  Trillions of dollars have already been allocated with more to come if deemed necessary in an election year.  The challenge will be in the efficiency of administration of these massive relief programs.
  • There are some encouraging signs the curve may be flattening, though disappointments on that front should be expected.  Pressure will build to allow more of the economy to open.  The market will be actively scouring all data to anticipate future earnings and defaults, but that too will be a noisy process. 
  • We believe the Fed is completely on the case and this sets a powerful foundation for economic stability that the market will not ignore.

To continue reading and to learn more about Offit Capital, login or contact us.

Connect Now

Privacy Notice

Provided in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's rule regarding the privacy of consumer financial information (Regulation S-P).

Information We Collect

Offit Capital must collect certain personally identifiable financial information about its clients to ensure that it offers the highest quality financial services and products. The personally identifiable financial information which we gather during the normal course of doing business with you may include:

Information We Disclose

We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our clients or former clients to anyone, except as permitted by law. Nonpublic personal information means personally identifiable financial information and any list, description or other grouping of clients that is derived using any personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available.

In accordance with Section 248.13 of Regulation S-P, we may disclose all of the information we collect, as described above, to certain nonaffiliated third parties such as attorneys, accountants, auditors and persons or entities that are assessing our compliance with industry standards. We enter into contractual agreements with all nonaffiliated third parties that prohibit such third parties from disclosing or using the information other than to carry out the purposes for which we disclose the information.

Confidentiality & Security

We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to those employees who need to know that information to provide financial products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information.

Forgot your password? No Account? Request Access.

Request Access

Note: You will be emailed an access link upon submitting this form.