The Federal Reserve cut IOER (Interest On Excess Reserves) by 5 basis points.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said this is a “small technical adjustment”. This is probably a reaction to the effective federal funds rate hitting the upper band of the federal reserves target. Reducing the IOER will incentivize banks to put their excess reserves to work.
Excess reserves have been on the decline since 2015. Right now this is a small cut and I am not reading to much into it. However, if they continue to cut this rate, the possibility this high powered money will accelerate the excess reserve decline and enter the system is good.
The Federal Reserve probably believes this will have the effect of reducing the effective federal funds rate and push it down from its upper limit. This maybe true. The point is the Federal Reserve has no control over what banks do with this money. The money may enter the Federal Funds market and push down rates. It may not. Overall, this is bullish for financial assets., the stock market and real estate.