The Bank Policy Institute recently conducted a survey of large bank treasurers on the banks’ willingness to use the discount window or standing repo facility and on banks’ interpretations of the rules for required internal liquidity stress tests. After the bank failures of 2023, the Fed has been working to increase banks’ willingness to borrow from its discount window and standing repo facility. As part of the effort, it recently clarified the rules for large banks’ internal liquidity stress tests. BPI’s treasurer survey, with 31 respondents, shows that there has been some progress in the Fed’s discount window efforts, but suggests that further work remains necessary.
The questions covered the following topics:
- Banks’ willingness to use the discount window and standing repo facility
- Banks’ demand for reserve balances
- Banks’ understanding of the rules governing internal liquidity stress tests.
The results:
- The Fed’s efforts appear to be making a difference, but there’s more work ahead. A quarter of treasurers indicated that their bank was at least somewhat more willing to borrow from the discount window than they were a year ago, and one third indicated they were more willing to borrow from the standing repo facility. While banks have become a bit more willing, banks’ overall willingness remains extremely low.
- Why? Treasurers gave various reasons for an increased willingness to use these facilities. On the discount window, treasurers pointed to the Fed’s clarifying new FAQ document, public comments from Fed officials and encouragement by examiners as key reasons driving their greater willingness. On the SRF, banks pointed to the FAQ, changes in senior bank management views and Fed officials’ public comments.
- More clarity needed. Bank treasurers have a range of views about what, exactly, the Fed’s FAQ on internal liquidity stress tests means, suggesting that further clarification may be needed.
- Other highlights:
- Most banks indicated that their plans for Federal Home Loan Bank advances as a source of contingency funding were unchanged, but one quarter indicated that they scaled back their planned use.
- The Fed appears to be trying to convince banks that they do not need such large stockpiles of reserve balances. However, more than twice as many banks in this survey stated that their demand for reserves had gone up rather than down.