WASHINGTON: The regional Federal Reserve banks paid a record $97.7 billion in profits to the Treasury in 2015, according to U.S. central bank results released on Monday.
The figure tops the then-record $96.9 billion that the Fed turned over to the U.S. government in 2014.
In addition, the Fed's regional banks transferred a total of $19.3 billion from their capital surplus at the end of December, necessary to comply with surplus limitation requirements.
The central bank earns interest on U.S. Treasury bonds and other U.S. agency securities it purchased to battle the financial crisis.
Currently the Fed's swollen balance sheet stands at about $4.5 trillion and policymakers have suggested they will keep the portfolio this large at least until next year.
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