While small businesses have been able to access credit during the current crisis, this is not the case for many consumers; in this American Banker op-ed Nathanial Hoopes, Executive Director of the Marketplace Lending Association shares his perspective on how the fed should step in; demand for loans on sites like CreditKarma have been stable though loans being approved by online lenders are down by as much as 90% in April; this is leaving borrowers with the inability to access credit at all or rely on high-cost lenders; additionally. credit card lending is being cut by some financial institutions; Hoopes believes that the Fed along with the Treasury Department should step in to make sure credit is available at reasonable rates by including investment grade unsecured personal loans in the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) program; another action that would help consumers is setting aside a portion of the Fed’s Main Street Lending Program to support nonbank lenders; finally he believes Congress could introduce a consumer loan forgiveness fund to act as a backstop for lenders. American Banker
