US Treasury Secretary Says Trump MBS Purchase Plan to Offset Fed Balance Sheet Runoff

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Jan. 12 the Trump administration's mortgage-backed securities purchase program is designed to roughly match the pace at which similar bonds roll off the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, Reuters reports. About $15 billion of such securities are currently running off the Fed's portfolio each month. Bessent described the plan as approximately mirroring the Fed's moves, which he said have been pushing in the opposite direction.