Jefferson, Discount Window Modernization and Treasury Market Functioning

At the 2026 U.S. Treasury Market Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, New York Thank you for the opportunity to speak at the Treasury Market Conference. Today I will discuss modernization of the Federal Reserve's discount window and some implications of that modernization for Treasury market functioning. 1 As this group knows well, the Federal Reserve's discount window lending program provides liquidity to banks. 2 Banks access discount window liquidity overwhelmingly through primary credit borrowing, which is offered on a "no questions asked" basis. The discount window is as old as the Federal Reserve itself, which will be 113 years old in December.