BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  debt and MBS in an effort to put further downward pressure on long-term interest rates and so stimulate the economy.
With the federal funds rate near zero, and the Federal Reserve deploying the new tool of large-scale asset purchases, it became much more difficult for the public to anticipate how the FOMC would likely conduct policy over time, and how the overall stance of monetary policy would both affect and respond to economic conditions.