On March 3, 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released new details on a consumer and business lending initiative known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility (TALF).

TALF is designed to reignite securitization markets by providing financing to investors to support their purchases of certain AAA-rated asset-backed securities (ABS).  

In the first round of the TALF program, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will lend up to $200 billion to eligible owners of certain AAA-rated ABS-backed eligible securities for auto loans, credit card loans, student loans, and SBA-guaranteed small business loans. At this stage, TALF will also apply to AAA-rated auto dealer floorplan loans.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and U.S. Treasury have indicated additional items will be available for a second round of funding. They are actively considering, among other things, AAA-rated asset-backed securities (ABS) backed by non-auto floorplan loans.

We must urge members of Congress, the U.S. Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to include marine floorplan financing loans backed by ABS into TALF.

This would:
- Provide important new liquidity to this credit market
- Help relieve the mounting pressure on marine retailers and dealers

Failure to include marine dealer/floorplan loans, and any consumer credit assistance for the marine industry, in TALF would be inequitable and worsen an increasingly fragile financial market required for basic business operation in the U.S. marine sector.

Click here to easily contact your members of Congress, the Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to urge the inclusion of marine floorplan loans into TALF.

Please let Mat Dunn, NMMA's Legislative Director, know if you have contacted any of these individuals, so NMMA can reinforce your messages: (202) 737-9760; mdunn@nmma.org.