Federal regulators are discussing relaxing liquidity rules on banks and raising the amount of leverage they can hold to reduce financial pressure on them stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, sources said Tuesday.

The steps being discussed could allow banks to take on a higher proportion of loans with lower credit ratings, and make banks more likely to extend loans to companies that could, in the near future, be classified as risky.

Those companies include firms in the energy and travel sectors, which have been particularly hit by the unfolding public health crisis and a related global pullback in economic activity.

The Federal Reserve, which determines how much extra capital, or liquidity, a bank should hold, on Tuesday released new guidance relaxing those guidelines, and may move to relax banks' leverage ratios as well, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates banks and federal savings associations, is considering relaxing its rules related to leveraged lending that were introduced in 2013, according to sources.

But the OCC has not made a final decision on whether to loosen the rules — and there is substantial resistance to doing so, according to sources.