The Fed's Quiet Pivot on Bank Reserves

In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack a subtle but significant shift at the Federal Reserve: the slow drift in how the central bank manages the floor under money market rates. They anchor the conversation in the August 2026 data, noting the interest on reserve balances at 3.65 percent and the effective fed funds rate at 3.63 percent, and explain why the gap between these two numbers matters more than ever. The episode drills into the Fed's new 'floor system' — how it works, why it's been under strain as reserves become scarcer, and what the recent uptick in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, tells us about liquidity. Lucas and Luna also discuss why the Fed might be quietly tolerating a higher effective rate than its official target, and what that means for your money market fund and mortgage. They close with a forward-looking question: will the Fed eventually ditch the floor for a corridor, or is this just a temporary patch? #FederalReserve #MonetaryPolicy #InterestRates #BankReserves #Liquidity #MoneyMarket #SOFR #FedFundsRate #IOER #ONRRP #Economics #CentralBanking #Finance #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Economy #FedPolicy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo