Borrowing from the Federal Reserve Board's discount window and other lending facilities continues to decline thanks to "continued improvements in financial conditions," the central bank said Friday.
In its monthly report on its liquidity programs, the Fed continued not to name the institutions that have turned to its facilities for assistance. But the central bank offered details on the types of institutions borrowing and the collateral they are offering.
During the four weeks ended Aug. 26, lending was split evenly at the discount window. The top 10 borrowers took $130 billion from the Fed and the 355 institutions that borrowed less frequently took another $130 billion.
The Fed held $540 billion in collateral on Aug. 26 against that $260 billion of discount window lending. A large portion of the collateral — $150 billion — was in the form of asset-backed securities. Another $113 billion were commercial loans, and $40 billion was tied to commercial real estate lending.
The Fed said it held $207 billion in AAA-rated securities and $26 billion in BBB. The central bank holds another $95 billion that have been judged to be investment-grade by regional Fed banks.
