If economic developments lead the FOMC to seek additional policy accommodation, it has several policy options open to it that would involve the SOMA portfolio, as noted by Chairman Bernanke in his testimony last week. One option is to expand the balance sheet further through additional asset purchases, with the just-completed purchase program presenting one possible approach. Another option involves shifting the composition of the SOMA portfolio rather than expanding its size. As noted earlier, a sizable portion of the additional risk that the SOMA portfolio has assumed to date came from a lengthening of its maturity, suggesting that the composition of the portfolio can be used as an important variable for affecting the degree of policy stimulus. Lastly, the Chairman mentioned that the FOMC could give guidance on the likely path of its asset holdings, as the effect on  7  Liquidity in Treasury bills has worsened to some degree. However, our holdings in that sector are minimal, and hence the deterioration likely reflects other factors, including the decline in the supply of Treasury bills. 8  The Federal Reserve’s holdings of Treasuries have removed a large amount of Treasury collateral from the market, which may have contributed to downward pressure on general collateral Treasury repo rates. However, repo rates do not appear unusual relative to other short-term interest rates, and most market participants point to declines in the supply of Treasury bills, rather than the coupon securities that the Fed purchased, as the primary driver.
These changes likely supported economic growth and the creation of employment relative to what would have been realized in the absence of the program. 4 Second, the LSAP2 program appears to have raised inflation expectations from unusually low levels and reduced the threat of deflation. The downside risks to inflation had become quite threatening by last summer. Breakeven inflation rates had moved to levels that were well below those consistent with the FOMC’s mandate, even for forward measures covering periods beginning several years ahead. In addition, the pricing of deflation risk, as computed by looking at Treasury inflation-protected securities with different amounts of accrued inflation, reflecting fairly substantial odds of deflation over the next several years. 5 Since that  1  Estimates of the contribution of additional risk coming from the increased size of the portfolio range from 60 percent to 80 percent, while estimates of the impact of its longer duration range from 20 percent to 40 percent. 2  See, for example, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke (2010), “The Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy”, remarks at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, August 27. 3  One would expect market prices to incorporate nearly all of the effects of the programs in advance rather than during the actual implementation of the program. Thus, the period before the November implementation is the most relevant period for assessing the program’s effects.