US banks borrowed a record $18.5 billion from the Fed's repo facility amid funding pressures linked to quarterly tax payments and Treasury debt settlements, indicating tightness in meeting financial obligations and increased demand for secured funding.
The amount of funds parked by institutional investors at the Federal Reserve's overnight reverse repo facility has dropped to $1.1 trillion from a peak of about $2.5 trillion in December, signaling a significant reduction in cash available to buy Treasury debt or other cash-like investments. This comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes face correction territory, and the Treasury plans to announce further borrowing needs. The decrease in cash parked at the Fed's facility is attributed to heavy Treasury supply to fund the government's large borrowing needs, and it raises concerns about liquidity in the market.