Q.What is the Fed's FIMA repo facility?

This is the quiet answer to every "foreign holders will dump Treasuries and crash the bond market" story. The Fed built a pipe so the biggest foreign holders do not have to sell to get dollars. Whether it saves you money on a mortgage depends on that pipe being there when someone panics, and the record says it works.

Key numbers

How it works

A repo is a short loan with a bond as collateral. Under FIMA repo, a foreign central bank that already keeps Treasuries in custody at the New York Fed sells them to the Fed for one night and agrees to buy them back the next day at a slightly higher price. The difference is the interest. The bonds never leave the Fed's books and never get sold to anyone else.

The whole trade in one picture. No Treasury is sold into the market.

The rate is set above market rates on purpose, so central banks use it as a backstop, not as cheap everyday funding. That is why the line is flat most weeks.

The one time it really mattered

In March 2023, after SVB and Signature Bank failed, dollar funding got tight worldwide. FIMA repo jumped to $60 billion on Wednesday March 22, then wound down: $55B, $40B, $30B, $20B over the next four weeks, near zero by May.

Spring 2023, week by week. Fed H.4.1 via FRED.

Who borrowed is not published on the weekly sheet. The Fed discloses transaction-level data for its operations only after a lag, so the borrowers' names reach the public record, just not in real time.

Common misconceptions

What to do now

Want to see when the next panic starts before the headlines? Download the weekly series on this page and watch the FIMA line in the Thursday H.4.1 release at 4:30 PM ET: a reading in the tens of billions means foreign central banks are scrambling for dollars, which tends to show up in Treasury yields and repo rates like SOFR. Pair it with the custody story in why Belgium owns so much US debt and what happens if China sells its Treasuries. Not financial advice. Company Watch tracks the filings and federal money behind the companies you follow at $99 a month.

FAQ

What is the FIMA repo facility?

A Federal Reserve facility, run by the New York Fed, that lets foreign central banks and international monetary authorities with accounts at the New York Fed borrow dollars overnight by pledging US Treasuries as collateral, instead of selling those Treasuries into the market.

When was the FIMA repo facility created?

The Fed announced it on March 31 2020 as a temporary facility during the pandemic dash for cash, and made it a standing facility on July 28 2021, alongside the domestic standing repo facility.

How much has the FIMA repo facility been used?

Very little most of the time. On the Fed's weekly H.4.1 balance sheet it peaked at $60 billion on March 22 2023, the week after Silicon Valley Bank failed, and was back to near zero by May 2023. Other Wednesday readings since 2020 top out around $1 to $3 billion.

What does FIMA stand for?

Foreign and International Monetary Authorities, the New York Fed's term for the foreign central banks, governments and international institutions that keep accounts there.

Why does the FIMA repo facility matter for US interest rates?

If a foreign central bank needs dollars fast and has no backstop, it sells Treasuries, which pushes yields up for everyone, including mortgages. The FIMA repo gives it dollars against the bonds instead, so the selling never hits the market.

Sources

All checked October 27, 2026.

• Federal Reserve, Fed announces temporary repurchase agreement facility for foreign and international monetary authorities, Mar 31 2020.
• Federal Reserve, FOMC statement and standing repo facilities, Jul 28 2021.
• FRED, St. Louis Fed: Repurchase agreements: foreign official (H41RESPPALGTRFNWW), weekly H.4.1 data.
• Federal Reserve, H.4.1 Factors Affecting Reserve Balances.
• Federal Reserve, Central bank liquidity swaps.
• US Treasury, TIC Table 5.
• Images: charts and diagram by Tensorust from FRED data.