New York Fed met with Wall Street firms about key lending facility: FT

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams met with Wall Street’s dealers last week about a key lending facility, the Financial Times reported, citing three individuals familiar with the matter.

The meeting, which took place on the sidelines on Wednesday at the Fed’s annual Treasury market conference, included representatives from many of the 25 primary dealers of banks that underwrite the government’s debt, according to the report. The meeting participants were members of banks’ teams that specialize in fixed income markets, the report said.

CNBC has confirmed the meeting took place.

Williams sought feedback from these dealers on the use of the Fed’s standing repo facility — a permanent lending tool that allows eligible financial institutions to borrow cash from the central bank in return for high-quality collateral such as Treasury bonds. The tool would allow institutions to sell securities to the Fed with an agreement to repurchase them at a later time, essentially acting as a backstop for markets.

“President Williams convened the New York Fed’s primary trading counterparties [primary dealers] to continue engagement on the purpose of the standing repo facility as a tool of monetary policy implementation and to solicit feedback that ensures it remains effective for rate control,” a spokesperson for the New York Fed told the Financial Times, which reported the news on Friday.

The meeting took place amid brewing concerns about stress in parts of the U.S. financial system and signs of tighter market liquidity.

Roberto Perli, who manages the Fed’s System Open Market Account, which is the central bank’s bonds and cash holdings, said Wednesday that firms in need of the central bank’s standing repo facility should “be used whenever it is economically sensible to do so.”

The New York Fed did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

Read the complete Financial Times report here.