While acknowledging that the Federal Reserve is “mainly on the sidelines” in the government’s response to disasters such as Hurricane Helene, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank is ready to work with banks to get financial assistance to communities devastated by the storm.
“Like everyone, we see the tragic loss of life and the terrible disruption to literally millions of people, including here in Tennessee,” Powell said during a Q&A at an economic conference in the state. “We have a couple of things that we do in these situations.”
The first thing is to encourage bankers to work with customers in affected areas, Powell said. “The second thing is that sometimes in these situations when power is out there’s a need for cash… And so we have the ability, through the Reserve Banks, to make sure that banks have available cash, so that if power is out for a significant amount of time, there’s enough cash to do transactions.”
President Biden has declared major disaster declarations for areas of Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, allowing disaster survivors to apply for federal assistance. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also allowed banks in seven states to close as the hurricane approached.
