Stress across the US banking system might’ve abated in recent weeks, but liquidity demand remains evident — or at least on a quick glance.

Thursday’s update on Fed borrowing suggested banks continued to migrate from the discount window to the newly-created bank term funding program, but overall usage remained near $150 billion.

Discount window borrowing, which the Fed would like to destigmatize, fell to less than half the panic peak seen in the week following SVB’s collapse.

But borrowing from the BTFP neared a new high around $80 billion. It’s increased every week since it was established midway through last month.

Banks were expected to favor the new program, and some analysts have suggested it might eventually metamorphose into something it wasn’t necessarily intended to be, but that’s another discussion.

The bridge bank loans fell over the last week and FIMA usage remained elevated at $40 billion. As a quick reminder: The FIMA facility saw its first large draw ever last month amid the Credit Suisse drama.

Fed officials have been keen to suggest the situation for small- and midsized banks has “stabilized.” I suppose that’s accurate. It doesn’t seem to be getting worse, I’ll say that. Which characterization you prefer is just a reflection of your own penchant for optimism. Or the opposite.

“[It’s] consistent with a slightly improving bank liquidity picture, especially as falling rates have decreased banks’ unrealized losses,” TD’s Gennadiy Goldberg said Thursday evening, of the H.4.1 update.

As for the Fed’s overall balance sheet, it contracted a second week. Of course, “expanding” was always a misnomer in the context of recent events. This wasn’t (and isn’t) QE.

Related: It’s Not QE