Lorie Logan, Interim Manager of the System Open Market Account, Markets

Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced steps to support the implementation of monetary policy. The FOMC directed the New York Fed’s Open Market Trading Desk (the Desk) to purchase Treasury bills at least into the second quarter of next year to maintain reserve balances at or above the level that prevailed in early September. It also directed us to conduct repo operations at least through January.

Brian Manning, Corporate Communications Senior Associate, Communications and Outreach

During a press conference following last week’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pointed out that the Fed has made “consequential decisions” about its balance sheet in recent months, including to maintain its current framework for implementing monetary policy and to slow the pace at which it allows maturing securities to run off. A speech last month by New York Fed senior vice president Lorie Logan provides helpful context around questions about balance sheet normalization and how the Fed could implement monetary policy going forward in light of these decisions by the FOMC.

Betsy Bourassa, Media Relations Associate, Communications and Outreach

This morning, New York Fed EVP Simon Potter, who heads the Markets Group, spoke at a conference in Paris, France. The remarks, titled “U.S. Monetary Policy Normalization is Proceeding Smoothly,” were delivered at “Exiting Unconventional Monetary Policies,” a conference co-hosted by the Euro 50 Group, CIGI, and the China Finance 40 Forum.

Julie Remache, Senior Vice President and Policy Advisor, and Antoine Martin, Senior Vice President and Head of Money & Payments Studies

Earlier this month at the New York Fed, we co-hosted a conference with Trish Mosser of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs on normalizing central banks’ balance sheets. This was the second workshop we’ve done, and we had current and former central bankers, academics, market participants, and the press in attendance. While last year we focused on what had been learned about implementing monetary policy following the crisis, this year we focused on what the “new normal” might be for central banks’ balance sheets. For those interested in learning more about what was discussed, the presentations from the event are now available on our website.

Suzanne Elio, Officer

In recent months, there has been a lot of discussion around the normalization of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. As policymakers continue their discussion of potential reductions in the Fed’s securities holdings, questions frequently arise on what the balance sheet might look like in the future. In particular: How big will it be?