n the previous section, we detailed what has been unusual about the state of monetary policy in the United States—an abnormally long period of ZIRP, a very large Fed balance sheet, a Fed asset portfolio that is unusually long in maturity, and large holdings of MBS, which are essentially private assets. So, what will normalization entail?8 A good outline of the Fed’s planned normalization approach was in its “Policy Normalization Principles and Plans,” presented in September 2014.9 Three key elements were in the normalization plan: