AP sources: Fed mulls longer loans as part of TALF

WASHINGTON — People with knowledge of the matter say the Federal Reserve is considering allowing longer loan terms in a program aimed at bolstering commercial real-estate lending.

The aim is to make the yet-to-be-launched program more attractive to investors.

To that end, the Fed is weighing providing investors with five-year loans, versus the three-year loans now available to jump-start consumer credit, according to the people familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement hasn't been made. It could come as early as Friday.

Both the consumer and the commercial real-estate components are part of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF. It figures prominently in government efforts to ease the financial crisis.