That said, mortgage rates have recently risen with the increase in Treasury rates. Fiscal policy: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act In October 2008, the Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), which enabled a series of initiatives to provide confidence in the financial system and to strengthen market stability.
The ultimate goal of all these initiatives was to increase the flow of financing to U.S. businesses and consumers and to support the U.S. economy. Lending activities require both capital and liquidity. While the Federal Reserve had been providing liquidity, equity markets were virtually closed to financial firms last fall.