Warsh’s Reality Check: The Fed Balance Sheet

About this episode

Kevin Flanagan discusses the complexities of reducing the Fed's balance sheet, particularly regarding mortgage-backed securities.

The Fed still holds $6.3 trillion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, well above pre-pandemic levels. This week on the Basis Points podcast, Kevin Flanagan explains why a Warsh-led effort to shrink the Fed’s balance sheet, especially $2 trillion in mortgage-backed securities, may be far more complicated than the rhetoric suggests. Basis point: 1/100th of 1 percent. Learn more: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments/multimedia/basis-points-podcasts#Listen%20now Please see the WisdomTree Glossary for additional definitions of terms and/or indexes: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments/glossary

People in this episode

Host: Kevin Flanagan

Topics covered

• Federal Reserve
• monetary policy
• economics
• finance
• investments

Keywords

• Fed balance sheet
• Warsh-led effort
• mortgage-backed securities
• Treasuries
• pre-pandemic levels

More episodes of Basis Points

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• ‘Warsh’ and Dry · May 20, 2026 · 4 min
• What’s ‘Under the Hood’ of Your Core Bond Position? · May 13, 2026 · 5 min
• Powell Stays…Should the Dot Plot? · May 6, 2026 · 5 min
• Fed Watch: Powell’s Last Stand & What Comes Next? · April 29, 2026 · 4 min
• Inflation’s First Official Debut · April 15, 2026 · 4 min