https://minutesof.com/john-williams/on/balance-sheet/ Everything John Williams has said on balance sheet: 28 verbatim quotes, each with a timestamp and a link to the recording it came from. en Sun, 30 Aug 2026 16:23:02 +0000 https://minutesof.com/q/af0c32fa-0fa5-46e4-ba12-23370781e51a/ https://minutesof.com/q/af0c32fa-0fa5-46e4-ba12-23370781e51a/ “After more than three years of balance sheet reduction, the FOMC ended runoff last fall, then determined in December that reserves had reached ample levels, consistent with the principles and plans it had outlined in 2022.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/00ddc85c-7126-4465-aca0-bbba4acce352/ https://minutesof.com/q/00ddc85c-7126-4465-aca0-bbba4acce352/ “First, having determined that reserve balances were approaching the ample range, at its October 2025 meeting it decided to conclude the runoff of aggregate SOMA securities holdings effective December 1; and second, when it judged that reserves declined to the ample range in December, it instructed the Desk to begin reserve management purchases (RMPs) to maintain reserves within that range.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/c7e7cd85-2416-4114-8af0-65dbe1b326b7/ https://minutesof.com/q/c7e7cd85-2416-4114-8af0-65dbe1b326b7/ “the Committee made that decision at its October meeting, with portfolio runoff ending effective December 1.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/df7b0ab6-ace3-489b-83de-d53bbf563e37/ https://minutesof.com/q/df7b0ab6-ace3-489b-83de-d53bbf563e37/ “Our balance sheet has fallen from the equivalent of around 35 percent of GDP, in early 2022, to around 22 percent of GDP now.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/ea9a2b4f-3104-4346-9eaf-b4fac62823ac/ https://minutesof.com/q/ea9a2b4f-3104-4346-9eaf-b4fac62823ac/ “Today, reserves total around $2.9 trillion, as shown on the right side of the stylized balance sheet ( Panel 2 ).” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/c6e637f2-dccf-485c-98b0-3c81992b4257/ https://minutesof.com/q/c6e637f2-dccf-485c-98b0-3c81992b4257/ “Assets are now slowly growing in dollar terms, via RMPs, to maintain ample reserves and accommodate growth in the demand for Federal Reserve liabilities.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/b31c9ebd-f599-4257-8078-09801315aae5/ https://minutesof.com/q/b31c9ebd-f599-4257-8078-09801315aae5/ “Indeed, there even has been a label attached to it: “conventional monetary policy.” By implication, other monetary policy actions that have been used—such as forward guidance and balance sheet policies—are deemed “unconventional,” and therefore somewhat suspect.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/b2e9c632-f082-487f-b2e2-3079b4600e49/ https://minutesof.com/q/b2e9c632-f082-487f-b2e2-3079b4600e49/ “However, this narrow understanding of monetary policy is alien to the history of monetary economics and central bank practice.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/1ef9e3dd-4051-4826-a29a-d167064aafdf/ https://minutesof.com/q/1ef9e3dd-4051-4826-a29a-d167064aafdf/ “As I said, it’s hard to estimate exactly what constitutes an ample level of reserves. We know that number is lower than the current $3.2 trillion, since market indicators still point to reserves remaining abundant.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/cfd44648-5105-4f21-aa75-b516b4dde8e3/ https://minutesof.com/q/cfd44648-5105-4f21-aa75-b516b4dde8e3/ “As you know, so far, the Desk has been conducting reserve management purchases at a monthly pace of $40 billion.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/6b20022b-66ee-4d47-9b2b-8cf03ee25ee8/ https://minutesof.com/q/6b20022b-66ee-4d47-9b2b-8cf03ee25ee8/ “Absent a lending facility, the optimal supply of reserves under uncertainty is unequivocally higher than it is without uncertainty.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/ad88fd72-7c25-47ae-907a-97a43cd8fb57/ https://minutesof.com/q/ad88fd72-7c25-47ae-907a-97a43cd8fb57/ “Indeed, if the uncertainty is great enough, the optimal level of reserves can exceed the cutoff for abundant reserves under no uncertainty.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/ee37eab4-0adc-408e-a9d7-ecd267336110/ https://minutesof.com/q/ee37eab4-0adc-408e-a9d7-ecd267336110/ “An adjustment to our monthly purchase pace is likely to happen soon. Beyond April, the TGA is likely to decline as the Treasury uses the funds it receives via tax inflows to pay its obligations.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/d9bb4311-5318-48da-a44e-799c7efe1f79/ https://minutesof.com/q/d9bb4311-5318-48da-a44e-799c7efe1f79/ “The Fed’s securities holdings have shrunk from a peak of about $8-1/2 trillion in 2022 to $6-1/4 trillion today.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/fd3e95f6-9c6e-4435-9d25-fb5342b4c6a9/ https://minutesof.com/q/fd3e95f6-9c6e-4435-9d25-fb5342b4c6a9/ “At its meeting in October, the FOMC decided it would conclude the reduction of its aggregate securities holdings on December 1.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/9b8c5e49-e626-4b93-b5fa-7af3df494181/ https://minutesof.com/q/9b8c5e49-e626-4b93-b5fa-7af3df494181/ “But, as the Desk said in its statement in December, the monthly pace can likely be significantly reduced after April.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/cd6b4a76-e8ae-44f7-b041-7a17c0c01075/ https://minutesof.com/q/cd6b4a76-e8ae-44f7-b041-7a17c0c01075/ “The process has worked according to plan. The Fed’s securities holdings have shrunk from a peak of about $8-1/2 trillion in 2022 to $6-1/4 trillion today.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/9e3f16d7-2108-423b-b466-f84fe06c4915/ https://minutesof.com/q/9e3f16d7-2108-423b-b466-f84fe06c4915/ “At its meeting last week, the FOMC decided it would conclude the reduction of its aggregate securities holdings on December 1.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/e7887616-e710-4d7b-85ff-12935dc57968/ https://minutesof.com/q/e7887616-e710-4d7b-85ff-12935dc57968/ “It will then be time to begin the process of gradual purchases of assets that will maintain an ample level of reserves” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/c7e22c82-60f0-49e4-bec4-8cbce5734cd5/ https://minutesof.com/q/c7e22c82-60f0-49e4-bec4-8cbce5734cd5/ “Looking forward, the next step in our balance sheet strategy will be to assess when the level of reserves has reached ample.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/3c91b369-34d9-454a-a746-ef497c47240b/ https://minutesof.com/q/3c91b369-34d9-454a-a746-ef497c47240b/ “Such reserve management purchases will represent the natural next stage of the implementation of the FOMC’s ample reserves strategy and in no way represent a change in the underlying stance of monetary policy.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/216626b0-d87f-4075-8922-b424b3c935ae/ https://minutesof.com/q/216626b0-d87f-4075-8922-b424b3c935ae/ “In its May 2022 plans, the Committee stated that it would stop runoff when reserves were somewhat above an ample level.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/c4f16071-075a-4a27-870f-f5fbf4e429a2/ https://minutesof.com/q/c4f16071-075a-4a27-870f-f5fbf4e429a2/ “Treasury has increased its assumed quarter-end TGA balance from $320 billion in early 2016 to $850 billion on average in 2025.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/5e59c6d4-9898-44c9-84b7-8dc40e7ba91c/ https://minutesof.com/q/5e59c6d4-9898-44c9-84b7-8dc40e7ba91c/ “This effect is greatest when the lending rate is closer to the target spread. On the other hand, if the lending rate is very high relative to the target spread, then the facility is rarely used, and the optimal supply of reserves is near what it would be absent a facility.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/6c60a4cc-15d5-4ca7-a9f3-c47b9f2a3e27/ https://minutesof.com/q/6c60a4cc-15d5-4ca7-a9f3-c47b9f2a3e27/ “The Committee has indicated that it will consider stopping balance sheet runoff when we reach that point.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/b781df30-f763-47b1-b276-ba72967fcba1/ https://minutesof.com/q/b781df30-f763-47b1-b276-ba72967fcba1/ “The exact timing will depend on several factors, but, as President Williams said, given what we know today we probably won’t have to wait long.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/bcb6d55d-d1c2-4caa-9a73-890be46c0dc6/ https://minutesof.com/q/bcb6d55d-d1c2-4caa-9a73-890be46c0dc6/ “In other words, there is no single best way to supply reserves; rather, the best mix of tools depends on circumstances and policy preferences unique to each jurisdiction.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet https://minutesof.com/q/f92c5f1f-dc40-495f-bfc9-115a2ab0f6a5/ https://minutesof.com/q/f92c5f1f-dc40-495f-bfc9-115a2ab0f6a5/ “In particular, future potential changes to bank regulatory liquidity requirements may eventually reduce demand for reserves.” — NY Fed speeches balance sheet