Week 9 Since Peak-QE: Update on the Fed’s Assets
Repos at $0. SPVs fell for sixth week. Dollar liquidity swaps fell for 9th week. MBS unchanged for 3rd week. Treasuries rose.
Total assets on the Fed’s balance sheet for the week ended August 12, released this afternoon, ticked up by $12 billion, to $6.96 trillion after two weeks in a row of declines, and are down by $212 billion since peak-QE on June 10.
Of that $12 billion increase, $4 billion was related to the Fed’s other activities and $8 billion was related to the five QE asset categories (rounded to nearest billion):
- Repos: no change, at $0 for sixth week in a row.
- Swaps: -$6 billion, down for ninth week in a row.
- SPVs: -$1 billion, down for sixth week in a row.
- MBS: no change, for third week in a row
- Treasury securities: +$14 billion
SPVs fell by $1 billion, 6th week in a row of declines.The Fed conducts many of its QE operations via Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). These are LLCs that the Fed created and that it lends to, and that then use these funds, along with the equity capital provided by the Treasury Department, to buy assets and lend. This is the current alphabet soup of SPVs on the Fed’s balance sheet:.......MUCH MORE
