𝑑
The Daily Capital
NEWS & MARKETS · Lesson 60

How the Fed sets rates now: IORB, reverse repo and the floor system

Daily Desk · Editorial5 min read
The Fed doesn't push rates up by making cash scarce anymore. It pays banks not to lend cheaper — and the whole money market prices off that one number.

Ask most people how the Fed raises rates and you'll hear something about printing less money or selling bonds. That stopped being the mechanism in 2008. Today the Fed moves rates by changing what it pays on cash that is already parked at the Fed, and every other overnight rate follows.

Educational, not financial advice.