Open Market Operations

The Open Market Operations

Funding agency and aid type
The funding agency is the Federal Reserve.

Loans, interest rate change mechanism.

Who benefits
Banks

Background
Via Prins: "“OMOs are the principal tool of monetary policy, comprising purchases and sales of U.S. Government and Federal agency securities that are used to affect bank reserves and, in turn, the cost and availability of money and credit in the U.S. economy. The FOMC specifies a short-term objective for the OMOs. These policy targets change from time to time, but the current objective of the FOMC is to stabilize the federal funds rate around a target interest rate. The FOMC instructs the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (“FRBNY”) to engage in OMOs as appropriate to keep the federal funds rate near the target.”"

Related SourceWatch articles

 * SIGTARP Quarterly Report to Congress July 21, 2009
 * Troubled Asset Relief Program

External resources

 * FRBNY factsheet
 * Fed data