Core Insights - A significant liquidity crunch triggered by the U.S. Treasury's cash hoarding is pushing financial markets towards a critical turning point [1][3] - The Treasury's General Account (TGA) balance has surpassed $1 trillion, leading to a sharp decline in bank reserves and creating a potential "powder keg" for the next market movement [3][9] - The current funding market tension is evident through various key indicators, with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rising sharply [4][6] Group 1: Market Dynamics - The use of the Standing Repo Facility (SRF) reached a historical high of $50.35 billion last week, with current usage at $14.75 billion, the second-highest since its establishment [1][4] - SOFR surged by 22 basis points to 4.22%, marking the largest single-day increase in a year, with a spread of 32 basis points over the federal funds rate corridor, the highest since the March 2020 market crisis [1][4] - The overnight general collateral repo rate fluctuated between 4.14% and 4.24%, significantly above the Fed's interest on reserves rate of 3.9% [4][6] Group 2: Treasury's Role - The TGA balance has reached over $1 trillion, the highest in nearly five years, as the Treasury absorbs market cash at an unprecedented rate [3][9] - The Treasury's cash hoarding has led to a drastic reduction in bank reserves, which have fallen to $2.85 trillion, the lowest since early 2021 [11] - Foreign commercial banks have seen their cash assets decrease by over $300 billion since July, indicating that the Treasury's cash accumulation is primarily sourced from drained bank liquidity [12] Group 3: Future Outlook - The current liquidity squeeze, while dangerous, may signal a significant reversal opportunity once the political deadlock is resolved, potentially injecting thousands of billions into the economy [15][19] - The anticipated release of liquidity could trigger a rush for risk assets, particularly sensitive categories like Bitcoin and small-cap stocks, leading to a sharp market rally by year-end [17] - Despite a potentially optimistic medium-term outlook, short-term risks remain, with the possibility of a vicious cycle similar to the 2019 repo crisis if funding conditions worsen before the government reopens [18][19]

Core Insights - The report constructs a "3×3" matrix for analyzing USD liquidity, focusing on the federal funds market, repo market, and offshore USD market, while monitoring liquidity changes across scale, price, and policy dimensions [1][6][8] - Current structural pressures on USD liquidity are attributed to the Federal Reserve's balance sheet reduction and large-scale debt issuance, but the likelihood of a comprehensive liquidity crisis remains low under non-extreme conditions due to robust policy tools [1][3][6] Federal Funds Market - The federal funds market is the cornerstone of USD liquidity, with a focus on scale indicators. The Fed's balance sheet reduction since June 2022 has decreased total assets to 74.1% of the June 2022 level, but reverse repo tools (RRP) have provided a buffer, maintaining reserves at $3.2 trillion as of September 2025, which is 12.9% of total bank assets [1][13] - The effective federal funds rate (EFFR) remains stable within the interest on reserves balance (IORB) of 4.15% and ON RRP of 4.0%, with discount window usage being restrained due to stigma effects [1][17] Repo Market - The repo market is a critical liquidity hub, with the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) and primary dealer market-making capabilities as core observation points. Since September 2025, SOFR has fluctuated around the upper limit of the rate corridor, with a spread to ON RRP increasing to 16 basis points, indicating marginal tightening [2][20] - The ratio of primary dealer reverse repos to reserves has risen to 0.88, reflecting ongoing pressure, although it remains below crisis levels [2][20] Offshore USD Market - The offshore USD market has shown characteristics of "bondification" and "derivatization," with currency swap basis as a key observation indicator. Since 2025, the cross-currency basis for euro/USD and yen/USD has narrowed, indicating maintained offshore liquidity [2][27] - The use of central bank currency swaps and FIMA repo facilities during crises serves as significant signals of systemic liquidity pressure, with both tools available to address liquidity needs across various market levels [2][35][38] Future Outlook - Future USD liquidity faces multiple contraction pressures, including ongoing balance sheet reduction by the Fed and increased Treasury issuance, which may lead reserves to drop below $3 trillion by September 2025, approaching a critical threshold of $2.7 trillion [3][6] - The Fed has established a multi-layered liquidity management toolset, which includes the discount window, SRF, FIMA repo, and central bank currency swaps, to mitigate systemic risks under non-extreme conditions [3][6]

Core Viewpoint - The Federal Reserve may take additional measures to address pressures in the funding markets, even after potentially ending its balance sheet reduction this week [1][2] Group 1: Federal Reserve Actions - Multiple Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan, expect the Fed to stop reducing its $6.6 trillion portfolio of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) as early as this month [1] - JPMorgan strategists anticipate that the end of quantitative tightening (QT) will prevent further liquidity loss in the system, but funding pressures may persist [1] - The Fed is likely to implement temporary open market operations to alleviate common market tensions during key payment dates [1][2] Group 2: Market Conditions - Since the Fed began reducing its asset portfolio in June 2022, over $2 trillion has exited the financial system, leading to a significant drop in the reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) balance [2] - Various borrowing rates used in interbank lending have risen and remained high, indicating that bank reserves have not fully circulated within the financial system [2] - The Fed's benchmark rate has increased four times since the last meeting in September, reflecting tighter liquidity conditions [2] Group 3: Future Expectations - Once the Fed halts the reduction of its Treasury holdings, it is expected to reinvest funds into newly issued Treasuries to rebuild bank reserves, with regular T-bill purchases anticipated to start in early 2026 [2] - JPMorgan strategists suggest that the Fed should consider lowering the rate on the Standing Repo Facility (SRF) by 5 basis points to encourage more active use of the facility [3] - Market observers believe that the Fed's work will not be complete after ending asset reduction, as it may need to expand its asset size again to maintain balance in the reserves market [4]

Group 1 - The core point of the articles highlights a significant decline in the reserves of the U.S. banking system, which has fallen below $3 trillion for the first time since January, indicating tightening liquidity conditions [1][3] - As of September 24, the reserves decreased by approximately $21 billion, reaching $2.9997 trillion, the lowest level in 2023 [1] - The decline in reserves is primarily driven by the U.S. Treasury's increased debt issuance since July to bolster cash reserves, which has absorbed liquidity from the Federal Reserve's balance sheet [3] Group 2 - The reduction in reserves is also influenced by the near depletion of the overnight reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) tool, leading to a decrease in bank reserves held at the Federal Reserve [3] - The tightening liquidity is gradually affecting the daily operations of the financial system, prompting the Federal Reserve to slow down its balance sheet reduction by decreasing the scale of maturing bond rollovers [3] - The effective federal funds rate has slightly increased to 4.09%, indicating upward pressure on financing costs, although it remains within the target range of 4% to 4.25% [3] Group 3 - Dallas Fed President Logan suggests abandoning the federal funds rate as the benchmark for monetary policy, advocating for a rate linked to the U.S. Treasury mortgage market to enhance policy stability and effectiveness [4]