The Federal Reserve will return about $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury for 2009

[babylonsister]

Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009

By Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 12, 2010


Wall Street firms aren't the only banks that had a banner year. The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, as its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy created a windfall for the government.

The Fed will return about $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury for 2009, according to calculations by The Washington Post based on public documents. That reflects the highest earnings in the 96-year history of the central bank. The Fed, unlike most government agencies, funds itself from its own operations and returns its profits to the Treasury.

The numbers are good news for the federal budget and a sign that the Fed has been successful, at least so far, in protecting taxpayers as it intervenes in the economy -- though there remains a risk of significant losses in the future if the Fed sells some of its investments or loses money on its stakes in bailed-out firms.

This turn of events comes as the banks that benefited from the Fed's actions are under the microscope. Starting at the end of the week, major banks are expected to announce significant earnings and employee bonuses. Anger in Washington is at such a high boil that the Obama administration will probably propose a fee on financial firms to recoup the cost of their bailout, officials confirmed Monday.

As it happens, the Fed's earnings for the year will dwarf those of the large banks, easily topping the expected profits of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase combined.

Much of the higher earnings came about because of the Fed's aggressive program of buying bonds, aiming to push interest rates down across the economy and thus stimulate growth. By the end of 2009, the Fed owned $1.8 trillion in U.S. government debt and mortgage-related securities, up from $497 billion a year earlier. The interest income on those investments was a major source of Fed profits -- though that income comes with risks, as the central bank could lose money if it later sells those securities to reduce the money supply.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/11/AR2010011103892.html?hpid=topnews

[kentuck]

1. What's that? 2%?

Of what they owe?

[Don Caballero]

2. Bernanke, though criticized, is doing a great job

So glad President Obama kept him on as the head of the Fed.

[napi21]

3. Why aren't we hearing more about the repayments?

Every so often I hear a little blip about some bank repaying their loan, then a little later another bank. Yesterday I heard that GM was going to make a BIG payment in June or July, and now thiis blip about the FED. I would think Obama would WANT to get this good news in the headlines! All we ever hear is how big the debt is!