The New York Federal Reserve announced a new Reverse Repurchase Agreement Program to reduce some of the liquidity in financial markets. Under the program, the Fed will sell securities from it's portfolio with agreements to repurchase them at later dates. This is an additional sign of tightening from the Fed, in light of last month's increase in the discount rate from 0.5 to 0.75 percent.

This policy statement, adopted by each of the financial regulators, provides guidance for examiners and financial institutions that are working with commercial real estate (CRE) borrowers who are experiencing diminished operating cash flows, depreciated collateral values, or prolonged delays in selling or renting commercial properties.

This policy statement details risk-management practices for loan workouts that support prudent and pragmatic credit and business decisionmaking.

In addition to purchasing Bank of America and Citigroup stock, the TARP program participated in a multi-agency guarantee, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), of around $425 billion in Citigroup and Bank of America assets. The terms of the guarantees stipulate that Citigroup and Bank of America would cover all portfolio losses up to $29 billion and $10 billion , respectively, while 90 percent of additional losses from both companies would be covered by the federal government.

In late 2008 the Treasury announced that it would provide “exceptional assistance” to three institutions—Bank of America, Citigroup, and AIG—deemed to be vital for financial markets and created three programs—the Targeted Investment Program, the Asset Guarantee Program, and Systemically Important and Failing Institutions—to provide the targeted assistance. Through the TIP, the Treasury purchased $20 billion in preferred shares from both Bank of American and Citigroup.

New credit card regulations adopted under the Federal Trade Commission Act, in coordination with similar sets of new rules adopted by the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration.

The new regulations, as described on the Federal Reserve's website:

On April 2, 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board announced that it would relax fair-value (i.e., "market-to-market") accounting rules that obligated banks to value all assets at the current market price.  New guidelines would give banks greater flexibility in how they value "distressed" assets.

Purchase of equity shares of banks by the Department of Treasury, in order to promote lending and market liquidity under the “Capital Purchase Program” of the Troubled Assets Relief Program.

Currency swaps between the Fed and other foreign central banks are intended to increase foreign currency liquidity and allow for the provision of U.S. dollar funding abroad.

Since December of 2007, the Fed has announced several new and expanded currency exchanges with numerous foreign central banks. The below currency swaps expired in February 2010. However, on May 9, 2010 the Fed reauthorized the use of foreign currency swap lines through January 2011 to help add liquidity to global markets following European debt fears.

The Term Auction Facility (TAF) allows banks and other financial institutions to pledge collateral in exchange for a loan from the Federal Reserve in order to alleviate liquidity pressures in short-term funding markets. The interest rate on the loan is determined by auction; such auctions are conducted biweekly for loans with a maturity of either 28 or 84 days.

On 5/2/2008 a Fed release increaed the maximum size of all auctions from $50 billion to $75 billion. A maximum of $150 billion could then be lent.

Program allows primary dealers (i.e., banks or securities firms that trade directly with the Federal Reserve) to trade securities in exchange for a 28-day cash loan from Federal Reserve. The primary dealer gives the Federal Reserve a security and receives a cash loan, and also agrees to buy back the security in 28 days for a fixed price.