can instead hold these excess reserves on deposit with the fed. because banks no longer seek to lend out their excess reserves, there is no increase in the amount of credit outstanding, no increase in economic activity and no risk that excessive credit creation will fuel an inflationary spiral. in the event that the ability to pay interest on excess reserves for any reason proved insufficient or the excess reserves themselves had unanticipated side effects that the fed wished to mitigate, we are developing a number of tools that can be used to drain reserves. two such tools are large reverse repos with dealers and other investors and term deposit facilities for banks. finally, the federal reserve could always drain reserves the old - fashioned way, by selling assets. the vast bulk of the fed ’ s portfolio is highly liquid – currently we hold $ 769 billion of treasury securities, $ 692 billion of agency mortgage - backed securities, and $ 131 billion of agency debt against about $ 900 billion of excess reserves. all the excess reserves could be mopped up by asset sales alone if that proved necessary. the federal reserve has been very aggressive in responding to the financial crisis. we have rolled out numerous new liquidity facilities and have engaged in lending activity under section 13 ( 3 ) of the federal reserve act for the first time since the great depression. these actions have been successful in mitigating the risks of financial collapse and a more severe contraction in economic activity. the financial system is now healthier and the economy is recovering. but despite these successes, we need to be clear that what has happened to our financial system and the economy is wholly unsatisfactory, and that a broad range of regulatory policies and practices need to be recalibrated to address the shortcomings of our financial system. with inflation low and long - run inflation expectations stable, and our ability to remove monetary accommodation in a timely manner intact, our near - term focus should be to keep significant monetary accommodation in place for an extended period in order to achieve our dual objectives of maximum employment and stable prices. thank you for your kind attention. i would be very happy to take a few questions.

central bankers'speeches conclusion developing career - building programs that meet the needs of local employers and are accessible to job seekers is critical to bridging the skills gap. collaboration is a key component of any successful program. by joining together, we can advance the economic resilience of rural areas like columbia and greene counties - and strengthen our jenga tower. 1 columbia - greene lwda local plan, july 1, 2021 a€ “ june 30, 2025. 2 office of the new york state comptroller, availability, access and affordability : understanding broadband challenges in new york state, september 2021. 3 investing in america's workforce, a federal reserve system initiative in collaboration with the heldrich center for workforce development at rutgers university, the ray marshall center at the university of texas at austin, and the w. e. upjohn institute for employment research ( 2019 ). 4 federal reserve bank of new york, employer engagement by community colleges in new york state, november 2018. 5 andrew dumont, investing in rural prosperity : a framework for advancing economic resilience and opportunity, may 19, 2022. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches