Stigma and the discount window Accessible Data

Figure 1. Discount window borrowing around the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack and the August 14, 2003 east coast blackout.

A figure with two panels.

Figure 1A. A bar chart showing average daily discount window borrowing for the weeks ending August 1, 2001 to October 31, 2001. The bars are nearly zero until the week ending September 12, 2001 when average borrowing surpasses $10,000 million. The next two weeks borrowing is around $1,250 million. In subsequent weeks, average borrowing returns to zero.

Figure 1B. A bar chart showing average daily discount window borrowing for the weeks ending July 2, 2003 to September 24, 2003. The bars are nearly zero until the week ending August 20, 2003 when average borrowing reaches nearly $750 million. In subsequent weeks, average borrowing returns to zero.

Source: Factors Affecting Reserve Balances, Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.4.1.

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Figure 2. Federal Reserve lending to banks through the Term Auction Facility and the Primary Credit Facility during the financial crisis.

The Figure shows two lines and covers the period from July 4, 2007 to December 29, 2010. One line shows Term Auction Credit outstanding as the end of the week. This line starts at zero, rises at the end of 2007 and gradually climbs to a plateau of $150 billion in mid-2008. Term Auction credit jumps up to about $400 billion in October 2008 and moves between $350 billion and $500 billion until mid-year 2009 after which it gradually declines back to zero (about April 2010). The second line shows the weekly average of daily credit outstanding extended through the primary credit facility. This line also starts near zero, rises slowly in 2008, jumps to $100 billion in October 2008, and then gradually returns to zero (around April 2010).

Source: Factors Affecting Reserve Balances, Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.4.1.

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Figure 3. Discount window borrowing before and after the financial crisis.

A figure with two panels.

Figure 3A. A bar chart showing weekly averages of daily discount window borrowing for the weeks between January 5, 2000 and June 27, 2007. Weekly variation is extremely volatile and ranges from near zero to above $1,000 million. In numerous weeks, average borrowing exceeds $200 million.

Figure 3B. A bar chart showing weekly averages of daily discount window borrowing for the weeks between July 7, 2010 and August 30, 2017. Weekly variation is subdued. In only one week is average borrowing above $200 million. In most weeks, average borrowing is below $50 million.

Source: Factors Affecting Reserve Balances, Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.4.1.

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Last Update: December 19, 2017