Indicator · updated with every release
Fed balance sheet today
Everything the Federal Reserve owns: mostly Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities bought through quantitative easing, plus loans to banks. Its size is the starting point for measuring how much Fed money is in the system.
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Open the chartWhat it is
The Fed balance sheet (FRED series WALCL) is the total assets of the Federal Reserve, published every Thursday afternoon as a Wednesday level in the H.4.1 release. It grows when the Fed buys bonds (quantitative easing, QE) and shrinks when it lets them mature without replacing them (quantitative tightening, QT).
It was under US$1 trillion before September 2008, about US$4.5 trillion after QE3 ended in October 2014, and peaked at US$8.97 trillion on 13 April 2022. Runoff began on 1 June 2022 and ended on 1 December 2025 at about US$6.55 trillion. In December 2025 the Fed began buying Treasury bills to keep bank reserves ample.
Why it matters for liquidity
When the Fed buys assets it pays with newly created reserves, which adds liquidity to banks and markets. QT does the reverse. But not all of the balance sheet reaches markets: cash sitting in the Treasury General Account and the reverse repo facility is subtracted in Fed Net Liquidity, which many investors watch instead.
Questions
How big is the Fed balance sheet now?
As of 28 October 2026, the Fed balance sheet is US$6.75 trillion: down US$8.0 billion (−0.1%) on the week and up US$156 billion (+2.4%) on a year earlier.
Is the Fed still doing quantitative tightening?
The Fed ended balance sheet runoff on 1 December 2025 and in December 2025 started buying Treasury bills to keep bank reserves ample.
Where does the data come from?
The Federal Reserve’s weekly H.4.1 release, via FRED (series WALCL). It is published on Thursday afternoons with Wednesday’s level.
Related
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Start free trialGeneral information only, not financial advice. Data can be delayed, revised or wrong. Sources and credits.