TIMELINE: Fed actions to boost liquidity

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Sunday lowered the discount rate it charges on direct loans to banks and announced a new lending program to provide credit to other big Wall Street firms, the latest in a series of moves to try to stabilize financial markets.

The Fed cut the discount rate to 3.25 percent from 3.5 percent, effective immediately, and said it would increase the maximum maturity of discount rate loans to 90 days from 30 days.

In a surprise statement, the central bank also said it had established a new facility, which will be operating on Monday, through which it will lend to all 20 primary dealers. Under its discount window, it can only lend to depository institutions.

The actions were taken in concert with a decision to approve special financing to facilitate the purchase of ailing investment bank Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Under the deal, the Fed agreed to fund up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' less liquid assets.

The measures were the latest in a series of extraordinary steps taken by the Fed aimed at keeping a credit crisis triggered by rising mortgage defaults from spiraling out of control.

Following are previous steps the Fed has taken since August, when the credit crisis erupted:

March 14: The Fed says it authorized JPMorgan Chase to borrow at the discount window on behalf of Bear Stearns, an emergency move believed to have been last used in the Great Depression.

March 11: The Fed says it will accept a broader range of collateral, including home mortgages, in a new securities lending program meant to foster greater liquidity in financial markets. It says it would lend up to $200 billion to primary dealers, secured for 28 days, and accept federal agency home mortgage-backed securities and highly rated private mortgage-backed securities as collateral.

The action was coordinated with steps by the Bank of Canada, Bank of England, European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank. The Fed also increased existing currency swap lines with the ECB and SNB to up to $30 billion and $6 billion, respectively, and extended the term of those lines through September to help those central banks provide dollar liquidity in their markets.

March 7: The Fed says it will inject $100 billion into the banking system by increasing the size of its two term auctions of short-term funding and start a series of term repurchase transactions with primary dealers expected to be worth another $100 billion.

It also says it will continue to conduct term auction facility auctions, or TAF auctions, for at least the next six months, unless market conditions render them unnecessary, and increase auction sizes if conditions warrant.

February 29: Fed announces two TAF auctions of $30 billion each in March. It says it intends to conduct auctions for as long as necessary to address elevated pressures in short-term funding markets.

February 1: Fed announces it will continue biweekly TAF auctions in February, holding the amount in each auction steady at $30 billion. The central bank lowers the minimum bid size to $5 million from $10 million to include smaller institutions.

January 30: Fed cuts its target overnight funds rate half a percentage point to 3 percent and lowered its discount rate by a matching amount to 3.5 percent, citing considerable strains in financial markets and a deepening of the housing contraction.

January 22: Fed, in highly unusual emergency rate cut, lowers the overnight funds rate three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.5 percent citing weakening economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth. Discount rate cut by same amount to 4 percent.

January 3: The Fed raises TAF auction amounts to $30 billion from $20 billion for each of the two auctions in January. The European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank also offer dollar funds in conjunction with the Fed auctions.