>The Federal Reserve approved applications on Sunday from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to become bank holding companies, putting them directly under the regulatory supervision of the U.S. central bank, the latest step to restore calm to chaotic financial markets.
To provide increased liquidity to the companies, the Fed agreed to lend to the firms' broker-dealer subsidiaries on the same terms as the Fed discount window for banks and the central bank's Primary Dealer Credit Facility lending window for investment banks.
It said it was making the same collateral deals available to the broker-dealer subsidiary of Merrill Lynch.
