The Federal Reserve sent $47.4bn of its 2009 profits to the US Treasury, a record payment that highlights how the US central bank was able to turn its massive intervention to rescue the financial system into a successful investment.
In annual results released yesterday, the Fed said earnings increased by 50 per cent last year to $53.4bn, driven mainly by profits incurred from interest revenues on the extensive portfolio of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) it acquired to prop up the stricken housing market.
As the crisis unfolded at the end of 2008, the Fed started buying up a wide range of assets to bolster global credit markets, expanding its balance sheet dramatically, from about $900bn to more than $2,200bn.
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