In a press release published on November 2, the Fed announced its decision to: (i) leave unchanged the interest rate paid on required and excess reserve balances at 0.50 percent; and (ii) take no action to change the discount rate (the primary credit rate), which remains at 1.00 percent. This decision came in response to a monetary policy statement released earlier Wednesday by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), following its vote to “maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1/4 to 1/2 percent” for the seventh consecutive meeting. More information regarding open market operations may be found on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s website.