ThinkTankWeekly

The case for an Elastic Reserves system: Recommendations for the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet review

Brookings | 2026-10-19 | economy

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English Summary

The Brookings paper advocates for the Federal Reserve to transition from its current 'Ample Reserves' system to a dynamic 'Elastic Reserves' model. The current system is deemed inefficient, costly (creating subsidies), and prone to distorting private financial markets due to its massive, fixed balance sheet. Under the proposed system, reserves would expand and contract directly based on banks' actual borrowing needs, rather than being perpetually ample. This reform would allow the Fed to maintain effective interest-rate control and provide crisis liquidity while significantly reducing its balance sheet size, thereby enhancing its operational independence and minimizing market distortions.

中文摘要

該布魯金斯學會的論文主張聯邦儲備系統應從現行的「充裕準備金」體系,轉型至動態的「彈性準備金」模式。現行體系因其龐大且固定的資產負債表,被認為效率低下、成本高昂(構成補貼),且容易扭曲私人金融市場。在提議的體系下,準備金的擴張與收縮將直接依據銀行實際的借貸需求,而非持續保持充裕。這項改革將使聯準會能夠維持有效的利率控制和提供危機流動性,同時大幅縮減其資產負債表規模,從而提升其操作獨立性並最小化市場扭曲。

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