Fed holds rates near zero — here’s what that means for your wallet

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it will hold its benchmark interest rate near zero through 2022 to help the economy recover from the coronavirus crisis.

“The Fed has cut interest rates as low as they are going to go without going into negative rates,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. The economic shock from Covid-19 may call for drastic measures, but negative interest rates are not one of them — at least not yet.

In addition to slashing interest rates to near zero,  the central bank also said it will continue to increase its bond holdings to preserve the flow of credit. 

Along with the rate decision, central bankers projected Wednesday that the…