^ You're reading too much into it. Had the TAF auction been invented in 1996 and the Fed started giving money away, it would look the same way. The bigger shame is we're in trouble when the Fed halts its TAF auction. The Banks have gotten to use to the money. When the Fed no longer lends any more money we'll see a major reduction in liquidity. Credit crisis or not, a $150 billion is a lot of cash to remove from the economy.