Discount Window Treatment May 2026
Despite Fed efforts to encourage usage, the DW remains heavily stigmatized.
Olivier Armantier, Marco Cipriani, and Asani Sarkar discount window treatment
If you are looking for a comprehensive research paper on this topic, the most recent and authoritative study is: Despite Fed efforts to encourage usage, the DW
(2024): Explores why banks use the window outside of crises, noting that smaller banks with illiquid portfolios are the most frequent users. Stigma surfaced eight months before the 2023 regional
(2025): Uses laboratory experiments to show that once a facility is stigmatized, it is extremely difficult to "cure" that perception, even with policy changes.
Stigma surfaced eight months before the 2023 regional banking crisis and has not significantly subsided since. Other Key Research Papers
(2020): A Richmond Fed Economic Brief that explains how stigma undermines the Fed's role as the "lender of last resort". Quick Definition: The Discount Window Discount Window Stigma After the Global Financial Crisis