Effective December 17, 2020, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) directed the Open Market Trading Desk (the Desk) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to continue to increase the System Open Market Account (SOMA) holdings of Treasury securities by $80 billion per month and of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by $40 billion per month. Consistent with this directive, the Desk’s Treasury and agency MBS purchases will continue at their current pace and composition, and the existing purchase schedules for these securities, released on December 11, 2020, will remain in effect. The FOMC also directed the Desk to increase holdings of Treasury securities and agency MBS by additional amounts and purchase agency commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) as needed to sustain smooth functioning of markets for these securities.
The Desk’s purchases of Treasury securities will continue to be conducted across a range of maturities and security types in a manner consistent with current practice. The Desk will also continue to roll over at auction all principal payments from SOMA holdings of maturing Treasury securities. For information on purchase amounts and schedules, see Treasury Securities Operational Details.
Similarly, the Desk’s purchases of agency MBS will continue to generally be concentrated in recently produced coupons in 30-year and 15-year fixed rate agency MBS in the To-Be-Announced market. The Desk will also continue to reinvest principal payments from agency MBS and agency debt in agency MBS. For information on purchase amounts and schedules, see Agency MBS Operation Schedule.
In addition, the Desk’s purchases of agency CMBS will continue to be secured primarily by multifamily home mortgages that are guaranteed fully as to principal and interest by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae and that the Desk has determined are suitable for purchase. The amounts purchased will depend on the reasonableness of the prices offered, and agency CMBS principal payments will not be reinvested. For information on purchase amounts and schedules, see Agency CMBS Operation Schedule.
Additional information on Treasury, agency MBS, and agency CMBS purchases can be found in the following locations:
FAQs: Treasury Purchases »
FAQs: Agency MBS Purchases »
FAQs: Agency CMBS Purchases »
