Tapering by the Fed followed the massive QE program implemented in reaction to the 2007-08 financial crisis. Tapering was evident in June 2013 when the former Chair of the Fed, Ben Bernanke, announced that the Fed would reduce the number of assets purchased every month as long as economic conditions, such as inflation and unemployment, were favorable. As 2013 drew to a close, the Federal Reserve Board concluded that QE, which had increased the Fed's balance sheet to $4.5 trillion, had achieved its intended goal, and it was time for tapering to commence. The process of tapering would involve making smaller bond purchases through October 2014.