[Reports Suggest Walsh's Balance Sheet Reduction Plan Faces Resistance, Will Proceed Slowly] According to Jintou citing the Financial Times, Kevin Walsh's plan to reduce the Federal Reserve's balance sheet will only advance slowly. As the Federal Reserve Chair nominee appointed by Trump, Walsh is facing resistance in his proposal to scale back one of the Fed's most influential tools. Walsh has repeatedly stated that the Fed's nearly $7 trillion balance sheet reflects its overreach into Congressional authority and pointed out that the large-scale bond purchases under various quantitative easing programs have distorted financial markets. However, informed sources revealed that Walsh will only begin adjusting the Fed's balance sheet after extensive consultations with banks and the broader public regarding potential impacts. These sources also noted that he is unlikely to push for the balance sheet to return to pre-2008 financial crisis levels and will call for internal research and academic conferences to discuss related issues before taking action. Walsh also believes that the 2008 crisis demonstrated that excessive reliance on the interbank market poses risks to financial stability and has publicly advocated for a "third model" to manage the balance sheet. Some regional Federal Reserve presidents are willing to consider gradually transitioning to a new balance sheet management model.