What is ‘Fed Balance Sheet’
A breakdown of the assets and liabilities held by the Federal Reserve. This report essentially outlines the factors that affect both the supply and the absorption of Federal Reserve funds. The Fed balance sheet report reveals the means the Fed uses to inject cash into the economy and is formally known as the Factors Affecting Reserve Balances Report.
Explaining ‘Fed Balance Sheet’
The weekly balance sheet report became popular in the media during the financial crisis starting in 2007. The Fed balance sheet gave analysts an idea of the scope and scale of Fed market operations being used at the time. In particular, the Fed balance sheet allowed analysts to see details surrounding implementation of an expansionary monetary policy used during the 2007-2009 crisis.
Further Reading
- The Federal Reserve's balance sheet as a financial-stability tool – books.google.com [PDF]
- The Federal Reserve System and Eurosystem's Balance Sheet Policies During the Financial Crisis: A Comparative Analysis – mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de [PDF]
- Volatility spillovers of Federal Reserve and ECB balance sheet expansions to emerging market economies – papers.ssrn.com [PDF]
- International spillovers of central bank balance sheet policies – papers.ssrn.com [PDF]
- A skeptical view of the impact of the Fed's balance sheet – www.nber.org [PDF]
- The central-bank balance sheet as an instrument of monetarypolicy – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
