HOUSTON -- Uncle Sam is making more money available as short-term loans to the Federal Reserve to commercial banks. “$900 billion that they're going to make available to banks,” said Houston Community College Banking Instructor Janet Parr to her class.

The whole banking relationship was the topic of the HCC class, which on Monday night had just two students.

The Federal Reserve's Central Bank will also be paying interest to commercial banks on their Federal Reserve accounts. All this to help businesses grow and help you get a car or house loan.

It is also meant to send a message.

“We (the Fed) are going to do what is necessary as the lender of last resort to support the commercial banking system,” said Parr.

Experts said those moves helped Wall Street rebound significantly from its 800-point loss.

Just outside of downtown Houston, is the local branch of the Federal Reserve. Each local branch has its own local board of directors, about six people who give Washington feedback about what is happening in the Houston economy.

The Fed says that the on-the-ground information, however unscientific, can be very valuable.