In January, the FOMC made the key decision to continue to implement monetary policy in an ample-reserves regime. In such a regime, we will continue to control the federal funds rate primarily by setting our administered rates, not through frequent interventions to actively manage the supply of reserves.
In the transition to the efficient and effective level of reserves in this regime, we slowed the gradual decline in our balance sheet in May, and stopped it in July. In response to the funding pressures in money markets that emerged in mid-September, we decided to maintain a level of reserves at or above the level that prevailed in early September.