The Federal Reserve System paid $97.7 billion out of its annual net income to the U.S. Treasury in 2015, according to figures released today. The payments remain elevated from previous years, rising from $29.1 billion in 2006, $47.4 billion in 2009 and $79.6 billion in 2013.
The Federal Reserve transferred an additional $19.3 billion to the Treasury under the highway bill provision in December that tapped the regional Fed banks’ capital surplus in excess of $10 billion to pay for transportation spending.
The revenue driving Fed profits largely comes from interest income on securities purchased through the system’s open market operations. The Fed banks’ net income in 2015 was estimated at $100.2 billion; Treasury payments are calculated after the costs of operations, dividends and other expenses.
