EL7.AI
BondsMedium•30 October 2026•
2 min read

Bank reserves at Fed fall to $2.962607 trillion in Oct. 21 reading

Key Facts

1Bank balances at the Federal Reserve stood at $2.962607 trillion on Oct. 21, down $59.533 billion week over week.
2Balances were $2.893770 trillion for the week ended Oct. 28, a weekly decline of $68.837 billion.
3The Treasury General Account balance rose $68.629 billion to $952.002 billion in the week ended Oct. 21.
4The Treasury estimated its general account balance would peak at $1.05 trillion, with a $50 billion plus or minus range, in late October.

Bank balances at the Federal Reserve stood at $2.962607 trillion on Oct. 21, according to the reserve report released Oct. 22. Balances fell $59.533 billion from the previous week, according to U.S. central bank data. A report released Oct. 29 then showed balances had declined to $2.893770 trillion for the week ended Oct. 28, a weekly drop of $68.837 billion.

The decline in balances in the week ended Oct. 21 coincided with a $68.629 billion rise in the Treasury General Account balance at the Federal Reserve, to $952.002 billion. Fed data show the account balance rose in the same week that bank balances fell. Reverse repurchase agreements at the central bank also fell $4.953 billion, to $327.238 billion on Oct. 21. The figures reflect simultaneous movements in Federal Reserve balance-sheet items during the period. In October, the Treasury said it expected to increase bill auction sizes across maturities based on projected seasonal financing flows.

The Treasury estimated that its general account balance would peak at $1.05 trillion, with a $50 billion plus or minus range, in late October. The estimate puts the expected account level in the context of the weekly change recorded in Federal Reserve data on Oct. 21. In the overnight funding market, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate was 3.90% on Oct. 22, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data series based on New York Fed data. At its Oct. 28 meeting, the Fed held the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4%. The committee said its policy continues to maintain ample reserves in the banking system.

The Federal Open Market Committee approved its statement on Oct. 28 by a 10-2 vote. The two dissenting members preferred to raise the target range by a quarter of a percentage point. The Fed set interest on reserve balances at 3.90%, effective Oct. 29. It also directed its Desk to conduct purchases of Treasury bills and, if needed, other Treasury securities with remaining maturities of no more than 3 years to maintain an ample level of reserves. The Treasury is scheduled to announce its next quarterly refunding on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.