Treasury Eyes Near-$1 Trillion Treasury General Account for Expanded Bond Buybacks

The Treasury Department is weighing the use of its Treasury General Account (TGA) to finance an expanded buyback program for older, higher-yielding Treasury securities. Senior Treasury officials told CNBC that the near-$1 trillion cash pile could be tapped, though they did not specify how much would be used or when a decision would be announced. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the operation as a “Treasury Twist,” echoing the 1960s “Operation Twist” in which long-dated debt is bought while short-dated debt is issued to compress the yield curve.

Bessent Eyes $1 Trillion War Chest for Bond Buybacks CNBCScott Bessent eying US Treasury cashpile, could use $1 trillion General Account for debt buybacks, says report Bessent may use nearly $1 trillion from TGA for bond buybacks CNBCNew Yorker

Earlier this month the Treasury announced it would double the size of its off-the-run bond buybacks on the long end from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, with the first enlarged purchase scheduled for 9 September. The move follows a period of rising yields on ten-year and thirty-year Treasuries, which have climbed to 4.73 % and 5.28 % respectively since the end of March.

New Yorker

• TGA balance: approximately $950 billion (Bessent’s figure) and $935 billion as of 20 August.

Bessent Eyes $1 Trillion War Chest for Bond Buybacks

• Buyback floor: $4 billion per operation; officials said this is a minimum, not a ceiling.

CNBC

• Yield movement: ten-year Treasury yield rose from 4.32 % to 4.73 %; thirty-year yield rose from 4.9 % to 5.28 % since March.

New Yorker

• Debt size: $40 trillion total federal debt, with annual interest costs exceeding $1 trillion.

Bessent Eyes $1 Trillion War Chest for Bond Buybacks

Bessent told CNBC that the Treasury could fund the buybacks by drawing on the TGA, a possibility that would avoid “replacing one debt with another” through short-term bill issuance. Two senior Treasury officials confirmed the TGA is “considered to be available” for the purpose but declined to disclose a specific amount or timeline. Treasury communications reiterated the administration’s principle of being “regular and predictable” in debt-management actions.

CNBCScott Bessent eying US Treasury cashpile, could use $1 trillion General Account for debt buybacks, says report Bessent Eyes $1 Trillion War Chest for Bond Buybacks Bessent may use nearly $1 trillion from TGA for bond buybacks CNBCNew Yorker

• “The Treasury's intervention in the bond market raises the importance of Warsh's Jackson Hole comments as the real problem was that as yields rose, the dollar dropped, which is abnormal, This relates back to AI because now the AI spend is increasingly dependent on debt,” — Richard Reyle, chief investment officer at Questar Capital Partners

CNBC

Sources differ on how the Treasury intends to allocate the TGA balance. No source provides a definitive figure for the portion of the TGA that would be deployed.

CNBC

If the Treasury draws on the TGA, the operation could signal a willingness to use cash reserves to manage market yields, potentially lowering long-term borrowing costs in the short run. Analysts such as Reyle argue that higher yields have already pressured the dollar, and further Treasury intervention may amplify concerns about debt-financed AI spending and broader inflationary pressures.

Bessent may use nearly $1 trillion from TGA for bond buybacks

Traders will watch the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium, where Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is slated to deliver a keynote address. Market participants also await the 9 September buyback operation and any formal announcement regarding the exact amount of TGA funds to be used.

CNBC