Banks ‘Pushed’ to Borrow From Fed to Avert Financial Crisis

Thousands of banks signed up for discount window borrowing, new Fed research shows.

Lisa DeNell Cook, of Michigan, nominated to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, speaks before a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 3, 2022. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/Pool

The Federal Reserve is continuing to “push” banks to borrow from the central bank to help destigmatize the use of the discount window, Fed Gov. Lisa Cook said at a Brookings Institution event on May 8.

When the Federal Reserve was established in 1913, the discount window was available to struggling financial entities.