Honda, others want Fed to buy their paper: report
(Reuters) - A group of companies including Honda Motor Co (7267.T), Textron Inc (TXT.N) and Home Depot Inc (HD.N) are pressing the Federal Reserve to expand purchases of commercial paper to include them, Bloomberg said, citing two people briefed on the matter.
The coalition, which also counts Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N) and Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) as members, wants the Fed to go beyond top-rated paper and buy debt with the second-highest grade, the people told the agency on condition of anonymity.
American Electric Power Co (AEP.N) Chief Financial Officer Holly Koeppel told the agency that the group is seeking to add more companies and preparing a letter to outline its case.
The companies cited could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.
The Federal Reserve in the latest week amassed more holdings of commercial paper that it is buying from U.S. companies and banks to free up this critical area of short-term lending, Fed data released on Thursday showed.
Net portfolio holdings of the Fed's Commercial Paper Funding Facility, which is buying three-month top-rated CP, were $257.29 billion as of November 12, up from $243.31 billion on November 5.
(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Hans Peters)
