The Federal Reserve accepted $2.12 billion in Treasury bills on August 26. This amount represents approximately 9.6% of the $22 billion submitted by dealers for the operation.
The purchase is part of a wind-down of the Reserve Management Purchase (RMP) program. Launched in December 2025 with a monthly pace of roughly $40 billion, the program's volume decreased to $10 billion by June 2026.
No further RMPs are scheduled between mid-August and mid-September 2026. These technical purchases aim to maintain sufficient reserves in the banking system to stabilize short-term interest rates, rather than acting as quantitative easing.
The Fed's System Open Market Account (SOMA) is growing modestly due to these purchases and approximately $17 billion in monthly reinvestments from maturing agency securities. Total assets in the system hold approximately $6.7 trillion.
Banking system reserves currently stand at approximately $3.1 trillion, which the Fed considers ample. This liquidity level prevents overnight market cash scrambles and keeps the federal funds rate within the target range.
The RMP program began after the balance sheet runoff concluded in November 2025. FOMC Chairman Kevin Warsh has expressed skepticism toward large-scale balance sheet expansions, favoring a flexible, data-dependent approach.