Open Market Operations (OMO)

What Are Open Market Operations (OMO)?

Open market operations (OMO) refers to Federal Reserve (Fed) practice of buying and selling primarily U.S. Treasury securities on the open market in order to regulate the supply of money that is on reserve in U.S. banks. This supply is what's available to loan out to businesses and consumers. It purchases Treasury securities to increase the supply of money and sells them to reduce the supply of money.

Understanding Open Market Operations

The objective of OMOs is to manipulate the short-term interest rate and the supply of base money in an economy.By conducting open market operations, the Federal Reserve can achieve the desired target federal funds rate by providing or removing liquidity to commercial banks by buying or selling government bonds with them.

Basically, open market operations are the tools the Fed uses to reach that target rate by buying and selling securities in the open market. The central bank is able to increase the money supply and lower the market interest rate by purchasing securities using newly created money. Similarly, the central bank can sell securities from its balance sheet and take money out of circulation, putting a positive pressure on interest rates.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the entity that carries the Federal Reserve's OMO policy. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve sets a target federal funds rate and then the FOMC implements the open market operations that achieve that rate. The federal funds rate is the interest percentage that banks charge each other for overnight loans. This constant flow of vast sums of money allows banks to keep their cash reserves high enough to meet the demands of customers while putting excess cash to use.

The federal funds rate also is a benchmark for other rates, influencing the direction of everything from savings deposit rates to home mortgage rates and credit card interest. The Federal Reserve sets a target federal funds rate in an effort to keep the U.S. economy on an even keel and to forestall the ill effects of uncontrolled price inflation or deflation.

U.S. Treasuries are government bonds that are purchased by many individual consumers as a safe investment. They are also traded on the money markets and are purchased and held in large quantities by financial institutions and brokerages.

Open market operations allow the Federal Reserve to buy or sell Treasuries in such large quantities that it has an impact on the supply of money distributed in banks and other financial institutions around the U.S.

Permanent open market operations (POMO) refers to when a central bank constantly uses the open market to buy and sell securities in order to adjust the money supply. It has been one of the tools used by the Federal Reserve to implement monetary policy and influence the American economy. Permanent open market operations (POMOs) are the opposite of temporary open market operations, which are used to add or drain reserves available to the banking system on a temporary basis, thereby influencing the federal funds rate.

The federal funds rate is a benchmark that influences all other interest rates for everything from home mortgages to savings deposits.

Up or Down?

There are only two ways Treasury rates can move, and that's up or down. In the Federal Reserve's language, the policy is expansionary or contractionary.

If the Fed's goal is contractionary, it sells Treasuries in order to pull money out of the system. Money gets tight, and interest rates drift upwards. Consumers pull back on their spending. Businesses trim their plans for growth, and the economy slows down.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Does the Federal Reserve Conduct Open Market Operations?

Basically, open market operations are the tools the Federal Reserve (Fed) uses to achieve the desired target federal funds rate by buying and selling, mainly, U.S. Treasuries in the open market. The central bank is able to increase the money supply and lower the market interest rate by purchasing securities using newly created money. Similarly, the central bank can sell securities from its balance sheet and take money out of circulation, thereby pressuring market interest rates to rise.

What Are Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO)?

Permanent open market operations (POMO) refers to a central bank practice of constantly using the open market to buy and sell securities in order to adjust the money supply. It has been one of the tools used by the Federal Reserve to implement monetary policy and influence the American economy. POMOs are the opposite of temporary open market operations, which are used to add or drain reserves available to the banking system on a temporary basis, thereby influencing the federal funds rate.

How Does the Federal Funds Rate Affect Banks?

By law, commercial banks must maintain a reserve equal to a certain percentage of their deposits in an account at a Federal Reserve bank. Any money in their reserve that exceeds the required level is available for lending to other banks that might have a shortfall. The interest rate the lending bank can charge is the federal funds rate, or fed funds rate.