The Federal Reserve today released 2020 financial statements—independently audited by KPMG—for the combined system, including the 12 Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors. The Fed banks held a combined $7.4 trillion at year-end, up $3.2 trillion from the prior year.
The Fed banks’ 2020 earnings were approximately $88.6 billion. A total of $86.9 billion was remitted to the U.S. Treasury in 2020. The Fed spent $7.9 billion on interest on depository institutions’ balances at the reserve banks, a decrease of $27.1 billion from the year prior. The banks’ operating expenses were $7.9 billion, including $2.3 billion assessed to cover currency costs, operations of the Board of Governors and the operations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Fed banks earned $101.2 billion in interest income from securities acquired through open market operations, a decline of $1.6 billion from the prior year.
