Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009

[impik]

...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: Major banks are expected to announce massive earnings and employee bonuses starting at the end of this week, and anger in Washington is at such a high boil that the Obama administration is likely to propose a fee on financial firms to recoup the cost of their bailout, officials confirmed Monday...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34816272/ns/business-washington_post/

[Kdillard]

1. k and r.

[Clio the Leo]

2. And the President plans to add another 120 billion from fees on the banks...

.... who received TARP money.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2010/01/ap_source_obama_considers_levy_for_rescued_firms.php?ref=fpb

[DonkeyHoTay]

4. Is any of it taxable?

:-)

[Mithreal]

3. Why post in two places, just curious?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4221322&mesg_id=4221322

[Zynx]

5. I'm so glad that I don't have to flap my gums about the fact that the profits are

given to the Treasury. I was getting tired of doing that.

[brentspeak]

6. What "profits"? The taxpayer is still in the red for at least $120 billion

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-12/obama-plans-to-raise-as-much-as-120-billion-from-bank-fees.html

[Zynx]

7. Those were largely incurred by AIG, from what I understand.

It's a mistake to lump all of the Fed and Treasury actions together. That's a horrifically simplistic way of viewing the various interventions. The Fed made money last year through its open market operations. Those profits are helping to reduce the deficit.

[Mithreal]

8. False profits

[Zynx]

9. I'm pretty sure that money is real.

[girl gone mad]

10. Just like the dividends earned from Enron stock were real.

How did those shareholders do in the end?

[hulka38]

11. All I'm asking for is ten gold dollars

and I can pay you back with one good hand.