Late last year, the Federal Reserve ended its latest quantitative tightening (QT) program: the process by which it shrinks its balance sheet by selling securities or letting them mature without reinvestment. From a peak size of almost $9 trillion, or roughly 35% of U.S. GDP, the Fed had reduced the balance sheet by more than $2 trillion. Unlike in 2019, when a spike in money market volatility prompted the Fed to abruptly halt QT, markets barely seemed to notice this time.