Federal Reserve Tools and How They Work

The Fed Created Many New Tools to Combat the Financial Crisis

The US Federal Reserve building in Washington DC
Photo: uschools / Getty Images

The federal funds rate is the most well-known Federal Reserve tool. But the U.S. central bank has many more monetary policy tools, and they all work together. 

Reserve Requirement

The reserve requirement refers to the amount of deposit that a bank must keep in reserve at a Federal Reserve branch bank. On December 30, 2010, the Fed set it at 10% of all bank liabilities over $58.8 million. The lower this requirement is, the more a bank can lend out. It stimulates economic growth by putting more money into circulation. A high requirement is especially hard on small banks since they don't have as much to lend out in the first place. For that reason, there is no requirement for banks with liabilities under $10.7 million. The requirement is only 3% for liabilities between $10.7 million and $58.8 million.

Note

On March 15, 2020, the Fed announced it had reduced the reserve requirement ratio to zero effective March 26, 2020. It did so to encourage banks to lend out all of their funds during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The Fed rarely changes the reserve requirement. For one thing, it is very expensive for the banks to change their policies and procedures to conform to a new requirement. More important, adjusting the fed funds rate achieves the same result with less disruption and cost.

Fed Funds Rate

If a bank doesn't have enough on hand to meet the reserve requirement, it will borrow from other banks. The federal funds rate is the interest banks charge each other for these overnight loans. The amount lent and borrowed is called the fed funds. The Federal Open Market Committee targets a particular level for the current fed funds rate at one of its eight regularly scheduled meetings. 

Interest on Reserves

In 2008, the Fed agreed to pay interest on the reserve requirement and any excess reserves. It can now use this rate to change the fed funds rate. Banks won't lend fed funds for less than what they receive from the Fed for their reserves.

Reverse Repos

In 2013, the Fed began to issue reverse repos to banks. The Fed "borrows" money from banks overnight. It pays them interest for this "loan." It uses its holdings of U.S. Treasurys as collateral. Like all repurchase agreements, banks don't record it as a loan. The interest it pays will support the fed funds rate as the Fed gradually raises it.

Margin Requirements

On November 12, 2015, the world's central banks agreed to develop margin requirements in lockstep with the Fed. Any financial firm that lends money for investors to buy securities must require a percent, or margin, to be held back as collateral. For example, if a trader wants to borrow $100 for a day, the bank may require them to put down 50%. In that case, $50 would be the required margin deposit with the $100 being the borrowed portion.

Bank lending for securities is a $4.4 trillion market. The margin would apply to loans for repos, stocks, bonds, and other risky securities. It would not apply to loans to purchase Treasurys or other safe securities. They make up two-thirds of the securities lending market.

The Fed has this authority from the 1934 Securities Exchange Act but hasn't used it since the 1970s. The Fed is reviving this power to reduce the kind of risk-taking exposed by the 2008 financial crisis. Critics say it may also lessen the number of traders. That would increase price volatility if there aren't enough financial firms to help traders buy and sell in a market crash. 

Open Market Operations

The open market operations tool is how the Fed makes sure banks lend at its targeted fed funds rate. The Fed uses it when it buys or sells securities from the member banks. It's most likely to purchase Treasury notes or mortgage-backed securities. 

Buying or selling securities is the same as removing or adding them to the open market. The Fed will buy securities from banks when it wants them to drop the fed funds rate to meet its target. They will because they now have more money on hand and must lower rates to lend out all the extra capital. When the Fed wants rates to rise, it does the opposite. It sells securities to banks, reducing their capital. Since there's less to lend, they can comfortably raise the fed funds rate to the Fed's target.

Discount Window

The Fed uses the discount window to lend money to banks at the Fed's discount rate to meet the reserve requirement. The Fed's discount rate is higher than the fed funds rate. Banks usually only use the discount window when they can't get overnight loans from other banks. For that reason, the Fed usually only uses this tool in an emergency. Examples include the Y2K scare, after 9/11, and the Great Recession. The financial crisis timeline details when the fed used this tool.

Discount Rate

The discount rate is the rate that the Federal Reserve charges banks to borrow at its discount window. It is usually a percentage point above the fed funds rate. That's because the Fed wants to discourage excessive borrowing.

Money Supply

The money supply is the total amount of currency held by the public. The Fed reports on it weekly as:

  • M1, which is currency and check deposits
  • M2, which includes M1 plus money market funds, CDs, and savings accounts.

The Fed increases the money supply by lowering the fed funds rate, which lowers the banks’ cost of maintaining reserve requirements. This gives them more money to loan, which gives consumers more money in their pockets.​

Main Street Lending Program

The Fed established the Main Street Lending Program to assist small and medium-sized businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans under the CARES Act, these loans must be paid back. The Main Street loans can be used with PPP loans. It's also designed for borrowers who couldn't access PPP loans before funds ran out.

The Fed will purchase up to $600 billion in loans. The Department of the Treasury will contribute $75 billion in CARES Act funds.

These are five-year loans. The payment of principal is, however, deferred for two years. The interest payments are deferred for one year. The borrower can prepay at any time without penalty.

Fed's Alphabet Soup

The Fed created many new and innovative programs to combat the 2008 financial crisis. They were created quickly, so the names described exactly what they did in technical terms. It made a lot of sense to bankers, but very few others.

The acronyms resulted in an alphabet soup of programs, such as MMIF, TAF, CPPF, ABCP, and the MMF Liquidity Facility. Although these tools worked well, they confused the general public. As a result, the people did not trust the Fed's intentions and actions. Now that the crisis is over, these tools have been discontinued. Click on the hyperlink to learn more about them.

Monetary Policy Report

The Monetary Policy Report briefs Congress on the state of the U.S. economy. In it, the Federal Reserve Board summarizes U.S. monetary policy, how it affects the economy, and the Fed's outlook for the future.

The Fed Chair presents the report twice a year to Congress. He or she appears before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services.

The report is a must-read for anyone who wants an expert analysis of the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, it's so detailed and technical that it is often overlooked. Even the financial media pay attention to the Fed Chair's testimony instead. They focus on whether the policy is likely to change, and how it will affect the stock market.

Beige Book

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book is a useful leading economic indicator. It provides powerful insights into how the economy is doing at a grassroots level. Each of the 12 local Federal Reserve banks collect information from local sources. They talk to their branch directors, business leaders, economists, and local experts. The report discusses how each region's businesses are affected by national and global trends.

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Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Main Street Lending Program." Download "Main Street Lending Progam For-Profit FAQs (June 8, 2020)." Accessed Jan. 26, 2021.

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