Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

• The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet surpassed $5 trillion for the first time as the coronavirus threat drove major liquidity operations.
• The central bank added $586 billion worth of assets in the week ended March 25, according to a Thursday release, bringing its total holdings to $5.3 trillion.
• Treasury and mortgage-backed securities accounted for $355 billion in Fed purchases, arriving days after the bank lifted its limit for asset buying.
• Credit extended to banks over the period reached $50.8 billion.
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The Federal Reserve’s emergency relief efforts through March pushed its balance sheet past $5 trillion for the first time.

The central bank added $586 billion worth of assets in the week ended March 25, according to a Thursday release, bringing its total holdings to $5.3 trillion. Credit extended to banks swelled to $50.8 billion as firms prepared for increased borrowing amid the economic slowdown.

Recession risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic prompted the Fed to step in with an array of monetary stimulus actions. The bank announced Monday it would lift the limit for …continued .
[Source: Business Insider]