March 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve, struggling to contain a crisis of confidence in credit markets, will for the first time lend Treasuries in exchange for debt that includes mortgage-backed securities.
The Fed said in a statement in Washington it plans to make up to $200 billion available through weekly auctions. Officials told reporters on condition of anonymity that the program may be increased as needed. The Fed coordinated the effort with central banks in Europe and Canada, which plan to inject up to $45 billion into their banking systems.
U.S. stocks rallied the most in five years on optimism the initiative will help avert a wider credit crunch. Treasuries fell and the premiums investors demand for debt backed by home loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae retreated from close to a 22-year high. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, chartered by the government, are the largest sources of money for U.S. home loans.
``This is the most significant step the Fed has taken so far,'' said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. ``This relieves some of the pressure'' in the credit markets, he said.
Today's steps indicate the Fed is increasingly concerned about the investor exodus from mortgage debt, which threatens to deepen the housing contraction and the economic slowdown. Officials said the program is aimed at countering a decline in liquidity in financial markets around the world, and comes after signs of increasing stress in U.S. mortgage securities.
Market Reaction
The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index jumped 3.7 percent to 1,320.65. Ten-year Treasury yields climbed to 3.61 percent by 4:30 p.m. in New York, from 3.46 percent late yesterday.
The extra yield investors demand to buy mortgage-backed bonds guaranteed by Fannie Mae instead of 10-year Treasuries narrowed to 2.12 percentage points, from 2.28 percentage points late yesterday. The yield spread has still widened from 1.38 percentage point in the past two months.
Policy makers held a 90-minute conference call last night, where the Federal Open Market Committee authorized the new liquidity measure along with increases in swap lines with European central banks by a vote of 9-0, Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith said. Fed Governor Frederic Mishkin didn't vote because he was traveling, she said.
Top-Rated Debt
The Fed said it will lend Treasuries for 28-day periods in return for debt including AAA-rated mortgage securities sold by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and by banks. The loans will be made under a new program, the Term Securities Lending Facility, to so-called primary dealers, the 20 banks and securities firms that trade directly with the central bank.
Officials ``will consult with primary dealers on technical design features'' on the new resource before the first weekly auction is held on March 27, the statement said.
The Fed holds about $713 billion of Treasuries on its balance sheet.
The resource allows dealers to switch debt that is less liquid for U.S. government securities that are easily tradable, the officials said. They anticipated that the primary dealers, which include Goldman Sachs Group. Inc., Bear Stearns Cos. and Merrill Lynch & Co., will lend the Treasuries on to other firms in return for cash. That will help the dealers finance their balance sheets, they told reporters.
Valued at Discount
Officials said they will discount the value of the assets submitted in exchange for Treasuries, though the details are still under discussion. Tony Crescenzi, a bond analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York, said the so-called haircuts may be around 10 percent on residential mortgage-backed securities.
The Fed increased its currency swap line with the European Central Bank to $30 billion, from $20 billion, and one with the Swiss National Bank to $6 billion, from $4 billion. The U.S. central bank also extended the swaps through Sept. 30.
The ECB said today it will lend banks up to $15 billion for 28 days and the SNB announced a similar auction of up to $6 billion. The Bank of England will offer $20 billion of three- month loans March 18 and hold another auction April 15. The Bank of Canada plans to buy $4 billion of securities for 28 days.
The TSLF becomes the second new tool introduced by the Fed in three months. In December, the Fed set up the so-called Term Auction Facility to loan funds to banks in exchange for a wide variety of collateral, including mortgage debt.
Other Tools
Last week, the Fed increased the size of its planned TAF auctions, to $100 billion this month from a previously announced $60 billion. The central bank also said March 7 that it would make $100 billion available through repurchase agreements, where the Fed loans cash in return for assets including mortgage debt.
``They're trying to put out fires to the best extent they can,'' said David Greenlaw, chief fixed-income economist at Morgan Stanley in New York, who is a former New York Fed researcher.
Today's announcement falls short of calls by some analysts and investors for the Fed to make outright purchases of mortgage securities.
Fed officials said they want to increase liquidity and the regular functioning of markets, rather than determine appropriate prices for securities. Buying the home-loan debt directly would affect prices, they added.
The measures are the latest in Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's effort to alleviate increasing strains in financial markets that are curtailing credit to homeowners and companies, even after the Fed lowered its main interest rate by 2.25 percentage points.
Traders removed bets on the Fed to lower its benchmark rate by a full percentage point, to 2 percent, by the end of the next meeting on March 18, futures showed. The contracts indicate a 76 percent chance of a 0.75 percentage-point reduction.
``This will assist some of the big banks,'' said Walter Gerasimowicz, head of Meditron Asset Management, which manages $1 billion. ``But it won't bring the light at the end of the tunnel. The housing-market problems will take at least all of this year to settle, and until that happens, the banks aren't going to be relieved fully.''
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