June 15, 2020 5:00 pm Practice Finances Federal Reserve Opens Main Street Lending Program for Small and Midsize Businesses The Federal Reserve has opened its Main Street Lending Program, which will lend up to $600 billion to small and midsize businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and is encouraging lenders to begin making loans immediately. The program offers five-year loans with floating rates, deferred principal payments for two years, and deferred interest payments for one year. We encourage practices potentially eligible for the program to talk with their banks about the process for applying for these loans now. For more information about the program, click here. News & Knowledge All Curi recommendations are based on current CDC criteria at the time of publication. CDC guidance for SARS-CoV-2 infection may, or may not, be adopted by state and local health departments to respond to rapidly changing local circumstances. Providers should always check with their local health department to see if the CDC’s guidance on any given topic has been modified (particularly if more restrictive) from the CDC’s recommended guidelines. Follow this link https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/index.html for contact information to your state/local health department. If local recommendations vary from those of the CDC, and you are unsure what recommendations to follow, then it is safer to follow the more restrictive guidelines/recommendations.