Do US banks have a liquidity problem?
There have been very clear strains in the repo market (and therefore in very short-term interest rates) in the United States in the most recent period. We examine the possibility of there being a structural reason why US banks may now have a liquidity problem, by looking at: On their assets side, reserves at the Federal Reserve, net repos, bondholdings (Treasury, agency, municipal and corporate bonds) and loans; On their liabilities side, deposits and debt. Have any developments structurally reduced bank s’ liquidity? The only significant change is the sharp fall (as a percentage of GDP) in US households’ bank deposits, which has not been offset by any other change in banks’ balance sheets, and which generates greater refinancing needs .