There is a “large” and “unusual” divide between large and small businesses in the US when it comes to accessing credit to help them stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a 12 October note, Goldman Sachs analysts point to the US Federal Reserve’s intervention in corporate credit markets to explain this imbalance. The Fed provided a backstop for corporate bonds, which benefits large businesses, but there is no equivalent backstop for bank loans, hurting smaller ones.