BIS publicly calls on the Federal Reserve to expand FIMA facility, former officials call the move "highly unusual"

(1) After the US and Japan carried out a joint intervention on the yen, US Treasury Secretary Bessent publicly praised the Federal Reserve’s Foreign and International Monetary Authorities Repurchase Agreement Facility (FIMA), and called for the expansion of the tool in the coming months to further support Japan’s efforts to stabilize the yen. (2) FIMA allows foreign governments to obtain US dollar liquidity by pledging the US Treasuries they hold as collateral; Bessent stated on social media that this tool has played an important supporting role in Japan’s actions and emphasized plans to promote its expansion. (3) This move has attracted external attention, with former US Treasury senior official Mark Sobel noting that it is rare for the Secretary to so openly urge the Federal Reserve to modify a policy instrument—especially one that falls under the Federal Open Market Committee’s authority—whereas in the past, similar requests would typically be handled through private communication. This public statement is therefore “very unusual.”