Banks assess discount window use on expanded operating days

The January 2026 Senior Financial Officer Survey (SFOS) gathered insights from 100 depository institutions, primarily those with assets under $50 billion.

Respondents indicated a general willingness to borrow primary credit from the discount window if other funding sources became more expensive, rating 4.1 for firm-specific stress and 4.2 for market-wide stress (on a scale of 1-5).

A majority of respondents deemed it important for the discount window to be available on Sundays and weekday holidays once Fedwire Funds and NSS expand their operating days.

However, views were evenly split between those preferring availability for at least some hours and those desiring the same operating hours as weekdays.

Twenty percent of respondents lacked sufficient information to form a view on this question, often citing a lack of interest in using the discount window during these expanded days.

If the discount window were to be open for parts of the day on Sundays and weekday holidays, a majority of institutions considered the afternoon or end-of-day (before 7:00 p.m. ET) as the most important hours for potential liquidity needs.

Regarding costs, most respondents did not anticipate additional expenses solely tied to the discount window's expanded availability.

Some who did foresee costs attributed them more broadly to the Fedwire Funds expansion, which the Federal Reserve announced in October 2025 to include Sundays and weekday holidays, with implementation no earlier than 2028.

The Fed plans further stakeholder outreach to understand considerations for institutions of various sizes.