Federal Reserve Ends Balance Sheet Reduction Amid Liquidity Concerns

According to BlockBeats, the Federal Reserve officially concluded its balance sheet reduction on December 1, as reported by foreign media. This move has led to a decline in bank reserves to levels historically associated with financial strain, with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) periodically testing the upper limit of the policy rate corridor. The U.S. banking system is gradually facing liquidity challenges. In this context, the most significant signal from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) may not be a 25 basis point rate cut, but rather the direction of its balance sheet strategy. The Federal Reserve is expected to clarify, either explicitly or through its implementation notes, how it plans to transition to the Reserve Management Purchase (RMP) program. According to Evercore ISI, this program could begin as early as January 2026, with approximately $35 billion allocated monthly for Treasury purchases, potentially increasing the balance sheet by over $400 billion annually.