Fed Buys $305 Million of ETFs at Launch of Historic Program

The Federal Reserve bought $305 million of exchange-traded funds on the first day of its historic intervention into U.S. corporate debt markets, according to data published Thursday.

The figures were revealed in the central bank’s weekly balance sheet update, which also showed that total assets rose to a new record of $6.93 trillion in the week through May 13. The ETF purchases, which began on Tuesday, are part of the latest emergency lending program the Fed has rolled out to help cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. economy and financial markets.

The weekly update reports trades ...