Fed's borrowing has decreased

In the US, bank applications for the Fed’s lending facilities decreased last week, indicating a reduced need for liquidity. Institutions’ borrowing level, which was $163.9 billion the previous week, fell to $152.6 billion in the week ending March 29. Borrowing from the Fed’s traditional lending program known as the discount window was $88.2 billion in the same week. Borrowing from the discount window was at record levels of $110.2 billion in the week ending March 22 and $152.9 billion in the week ending March 15. Borrowing through the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP), one of the emergency support programs put in place after the bankruptcies of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, increased from $53.7 billion to $64.4 billion. “After the dust settled a bit at banks this week, this data provides some reassurance that things are not getting worse,” Jefferies economists Thomas Simons and Aneta Markowska wrote in a note to clients. TD Securities strategists Priya Misra and Molly McGown also said the decline in borrowing points to “a slightly improving picture of bank liquidity, although the situation remains uncertain.”