October 25, 2016
Federal Reserve Board approves fee schedule for Federal Reserve Bank priced services
For release at 12:00 p.m. EDT
The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced the approval of fee schedules, effective January 3, 2017, for payment services the Federal Reserve Banks provide to depository institutions (priced services).
The Reserve Banks project that they will recover 100 percent of their priced services costs in 2017. The Reserve Banks expect to fully recover actual and imputed expenses, including profit that would have been earned if a private business firm provided the services. Overall, the Reserve Banks estimate that the price changes will result in a 3.2 percent average price increase. The Reserve Banks estimate that the price changes will result in a 5.3 percent average price increase for FedACH® customers. The FedACH price increase is in response to increasing operating costs associated with an ongoing technology upgrade. The Reserve Banks estimate that the price changes will result in a 3.3 percent average price increase for Fedwire® Funds customers. The Reserve Banks also estimate that the price changes will result in an 18 percent average price increase for Fedwire Securities Service customers. The Fedwire Securities price increase reflects an increase in operating costs associated with new initiatives to improve resiliency and operational functionality and an expected decrease in volume. The fees will remain unchanged for the Reserve Banks' National Settlement Service and check service. The check service announced earlier this year a restructuring of its product and pricing, effective on January 3, to reflect today's electronic check-processing environment. The Reserve Banks estimate that the previously-announced price changes will result in a 3.5 percent average price decrease for check customers.
Lastly, the Reserve Banks estimate that the price changes will result in an 8.1 percent average price increase for FedLine® customers. The 2017 fee schedule for each of the priced services is available on the Federal Reserve Banks' financial services website at FRBservices.org.
The Board approved the 2017 private-sector adjustment factor (PSAF) of $16.6 million for Reserve Bank priced services. The PSAF is an allowance for income taxes and other imputed expenses that would have been paid and profit that would have been earned if the Reserve Banks' priced services were provided by a private business. The Monetary Control Act of 1980 requires that the Federal Reserve establish fees to recover the costs of providing priced services, including imputed costs, over the long run, to promote competition between the Reserve Banks and private-sector service providers.
The Board's Federal Register notice is attached.