Fed lays out details for bank loans

The loans--part of an effort to ease intensifying credit stresses--are made available to banks through auctions. The Fed--in coordination with other countries' central banks engaged in similar efforts--laid out dates that it will conduct the auctions through the rest of this year.

To help ease credit stresses, the Fed announced Monday it will provide as much as $900 billion in cash loans to banks. Most of the loans are for 28-days and 84-days. Some are shorter--13-day and 17-day loans.