Fed's balance sheet increased by nearly $300 billion in one week

The US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) balance sheet increased by approximately $300 billion to $8.69 trillion as of March 15. The Fed released data on its balance sheet for the week ending March 15. During the period in question, banks borrowed a record $152.9 billion from the discount window, which provides liquidity support. The highest amount previously recorded under this item was $111 billion during the 2008 financial crisis. The previous week, banks had borrowed $4.6 billion from the Fed under the same item. On the other hand, $11.9 billion was borrowed in 3 days under the Bank Term Financing Program (BTFP), which the Fed launched on March 13 to facilitate lending to eligible US depository institutions. During the same period, loans extended to depository institutions established by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) amounted to $142.8 billion. The Fed's balance sheet, which was $8.39 trillion the previous week, increased by approximately $300 billion to $8.69 trillion as of March 15, reaching its highest level since November last year.