inflation, sharply higher interest rates in response to higher inflation, and a subsequent recession. as a result, my guess is that if we avoid the boom - bust scenario, we shall have avoided the most serious of the other imbalances or at least will be in a better position to absorb and respond to the unwinding of other possible imbalances. that leaves the possibility that there might be cases when we face market / sector imbalances in the absence of any aggregate demand / supply imbalance. in such a case, the level and growth of output are sustainable in the sense that they are not putting pressure on inflation ; but this aggregate balance might be threatened subsequently by a spontaneous unwinding of a market / sector imbalance. alternatively, the depth and duration of a downturn in response to some future adverse shock might be aggravated by the unwinding market / sector imbalances. what role can and should monetary policy play in such a case? policymakers will, i expect, be reluctant to undermine macroeconomic performance in the short run in an attempt to unwind a perceived market / sector imbalance that might not be serious or might unwind in a gradual and nondisruptive fashion on its own. furthermore, it is not obvious how to unwind an excessive debt burden, to raise the personal saving rate, or to narrow the current account deficit in a sustainable way through monetary policy. as a result, monetary policy, in my view, needs to focus on achieving balance between aggregate supply and aggregate demand. in pursuing this course, monetary policy is confronted by two competing challenges. the first is to allow the economy to realize the benefits of any decline in the nairu and any increase in trend growth. supporting maximum sustainable growth is very much the business of monetary policy. but achieving maximum sustainable growth also is about ensuring the sustainability of an expansion and hence avoiding overheating. this is the second challenge today. i view the efforts of the fomc as precisely focused on balancing these considerations.

issuance with increased demand from municipal investors, including very strong inflows to municipal bond funds, and improved secondary market conditions. ultimately, the increased availability of credit to municipal borrowers helped them maintain employment and capacity by avoiding forced cutbacks in payrolls and other critical operations. the term asset - backed securities loan facility the term asset - backed securities loan facility ( talf ) supported the issuance of securities backed by newly and recently originated student loans, auto loans, credit card loans, commercial mortgages, loans backed by the small business administration, and certain other assets. the announcement and presence of the talf substantially helped improve liquidity in the asset - backed securities markets, including those for commercial mortgage - backed securities and collateralized loan obligations, and contributed to rapid improvement in credit markets for consumers and businesses. ultimately, the talf helped promote the longer - term, market - based financing that is critical to the real economy. summary of section 13 ( 3 ) facilities using cares act funding ( billions of dollars ) peak amount of assets2 14. 1 16. 6 6. 4 4. 1 current amount of assets2 12. 8 13. 6 5. 4 1. 6 treasury equity remaining3 13. 9 16. 6 6. 3 3. 5 maximum facility announced closed capacity1 corporate credit facilities mar. 23, 2020 dec. 31, 2020 main street lending program apr. 9, 2020 jan. 8, 2021 municipal liquidity facility apr. 9, 2020 dec. 31, 2020 talf mar. 23, 2020 dec. 31, 2020 note : the data are current as of june 17, 2021. 1. the maximum authorized amount of facility asset purchases. 2. current and peak outstanding amounts of facility asset purchases. • for the corporate credit facilities ( consisting of the primary market corporate credit facility and the secondary market corporate credit facility ), includes exchange - traded funds at fair value and corporate bonds at book value. asset balances from trading activity are reported with a one - day lag after the transaction date. • for the main street lending program, includes loan participations, net of an allowance for loan losses updated as of december 31, 2020, at face value. • for the municipal liquidity facility, includes municipal notes at book value. • for the talf ( term asset - backed securities loan facility ), includes loans to holders of eligible asset - backed securities at book value. 3. the amount of the treasury contribution to the credit facilities. source : for