Print
Quarterly Report on Federal Reserve
Balance Sheet Developments
| Abbreviations | Overview | Monetary Policy Tools |
Overview
Recent Developments
The Overview section of this report highlights recent developments in the operations of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy tools and presents data describing changes in the assets, liabilities, and total capital of the Federal Reserve System as of September 30, 2014.
FOMC Concludes Asset Purchase Program
- On October 29, 2014, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that in light of substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market since the inception of its current asset purchase program and sufficient underlying strength in the broader economy supporting ongoing progress toward maximum employment in a context of price stability, the Committee decided to conclude its asset purchase program. The FOMC also announced that it is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in agency MBS and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction. This policy, by keeping the Committee's holdings of longer-term securities at sizable levels, should help maintain accommodative financial conditions. Additional information is available at www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20141029a.htm.
FOMC Releases Statement on Principles and Plans for Monetary Policy Normalization
- On September 17, 2014, the FOMC released a statement on its principles and plans for normalizing the stance of monetary policy and Federal Reserve's securities holdings. Additional information on the key elements of the FOMC's intended approach to policy normalization is available at www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/policy-normalization.htm.
Remaining TALF Loans Mature
- On October 29, 2014, the final remaining loan outstanding under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) matured. This repayment marked the retirement of the last remaining debt owed to the Federal Reserve under the special credit and liquidity programs created in response to the financial crisis. All of the loans made under the Federal Reserve's special crisis-related programs were repaid in full, with interest. TALF LLC, a limited liability company formed to purchase and manage assets received by the FRBNY from the TALF program, made the final distribution from its accumulated fees and income to the Treasury and the FRBNY in early November 2014, leaving the LLC with no remaining assets.
Federal Reserve Board Publishes Quarterly Financial Report
- On November 21, 2014, the Federal Reserve Board published the "Federal Reserve Banks Combined Quarterly Financial Report" for the third quarter of 2014, which includes summary information on the combined financial position and results of operations of the 12 Reserve Banks and several consolidated variable interest entities (VIEs). All financial information included in the report is unaudited. The report is available on the Federal Reserve Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_fedfinancials.htm#quarterly.
Federal Reserve Conducts TDF Test Operations with Early Withdrawal Feature
-
On September 4, 2014, the Federal Reserve announced that beginning in October it would conduct a series of eight consecutive seven-day term deposit operations through its Term Deposit Facility (TDF). These operations incorporate an early withdrawal feature that allows depository institutions to obtain a return of funds prior to the maturity date subject to an early withdrawal penalty. The operations are designed to ensure the operational readiness of the TDF and to provide eligible institutions with an opportunity to gain familiarity with term deposit procedures. The development of the TDF and the ongoing TDF test operations are a matter of prudent planning and have no implications for the near-term conduct of monetary policy. Results of the operations and technical details regarding the early withdrawal feature are available at www.frbservices.org/centralbank/term_deposit_facility.html
.
FRBNY and Foreign Central Banks Test Non-U.S. Dollar Liquidity Swap Arrangements
-
On October 21, 2014, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) announced that it would conduct small-value non-U.S. dollar liquidity swap operations with some foreign central banks with which it has liquidity swap arrangements. The purpose of these pre-arranged small-value operations is to test the operational readiness of the swap arrangements. The first of these operations occurred on October 21, 2014, and the FRBNY intends to conduct similar periodic exercises in the future. Additional information is available at www.newyorkfed.org/markets/opolicy/operating_policy_141021.html .
FRBNY Announces Term Reverse Repo Operations over Year-End
-
On October 29, 2014, the FRBNY announced that as a technical exercise it would conduct term reverse repurchase (reverse repo or RRP) operations that cross year-end. These exercises are intended to enhance operational readiness, to increase understanding of the impact of term RRP operations as a supplementary tool to help control the federal funds rate (particularly when there are significant and transitory shifts in money market activity), and to reduce potential volatility in money market rates. The FRBNY intends to offer the operations via auction at various times in December, and the operations will mature on or about January 2, 2015. The operations will be open to all eligible RRP counterparties and will use Treasury collateral. This exercise does not represent a change in the stance of monetary policy, and no inference should be drawn about the timing of any change in the stance of monetary policy in the future. Additional information is available at www.newyorkfed.org/markets/opolicy/operating_policy_141029.html .
Federal Reserve System Selected Assets, Liabilities, and Total Capital
Table 1 reports selected assets and liabilities and total capital of the Federal Reserve System and presents the change in these components over selected intervals. The Federal Reserve publishes its complete balance sheet each week in the H.4.1 statistical release, "Factors Affecting Reserve Balances of Depository Institutions and Condition Statement of Federal Reserve Banks," available at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h41/.
Figure 1 displays the levels of selected Federal Reserve assets and liabilities, securities holdings, and credit extended through liquidity facilities since April 2010.
Table 1. Assets, liabilities, and capital of the Federal Reserve System
Billions of dollars
| Item |
Current October 29, 2014 |
Change from July 30, 2014 |
Change from October 30, 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | 4,487 | +80 | +643 |
| Selected assets | |||
| Securities held outright | 4,219 | +82 | +649 |
| U.S. Treasury securities 1 | 2,462 | +41 | +344 |
| Federal agency debt securities1 | 40 | -2 | -19 |
| Mortgage-backed securities 2 | 1,718 | +44 | +324 |
| Memo: Overnight securities lending 3 | 10 | +1 | -10 |
| Memo: Net commitments to purchase mortgage-backed securities 4 | 46 | -15 | -25 |
| Unamortized premiums on securities held outright 5 | 209 | -* | +4 |
| Unamortized discounts on securities held outright5 | -19 | -* | -10 |
| Lending to depository institutions 6 | * | -* | +* |
| Central bank liquidity swaps 7 | * | -* | -* |
| Lending through the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) 8 | 0 | -* | -* |
| Net portfolio holdings of TALF LLC 9 | * | -* | -* |
| Support for specific institutions 10 | 2 | -* | +* |
| Net portfolio holdings of Maiden Lane LLC10 | 2 | +* | +* |
| Net portfolio holdings of Maiden Lane II LLC10 | * | -* | -* |
| Net portfolio holdings of Maiden Lane III LLC10 | * | -* | -* |
| Foreign currency denominated assets 11 | 23 | -1 | -2 |
| Total liabilities | 4,430 | +80 | +642 |
| Selected liabilities | |||
| Federal Reserve notes in circulation | 1,255 | +13 | +80 |
| Reverse repurchase agreements 12 | 237 | +8 | +122 |
| Foreign official and international accounts12 | 102 | -11 | -7 |
| Others12 | 135 | +19 | +129 |
| Term deposits held by depository institutions | 172 | +172 | +172 |
| Other deposits held by depository institutions | 2,627 | -159 | +192 |
| U.S. Treasury, general account | 119 | +49 | +88 |
| Other deposits 13 | 8 | -2 | -6 |
| Total capital | 56 | +* | +2 |
Note: Unaudited. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.
*Less than $500 million.
1. Face value. Return to table
2. Guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. The current face value shown is the remaining principal balance of the securities. Return to table
3. Securities loans under the overnight facility are off-balance-sheet transactions. These loans are shown here as a memo item to indicate the portion of securities held outright that have been lent through this program. Return to table
4. Current face value. Includes commitments associated with outright purchases, dollar rolls, and coupon swaps. Return to table
5. Reflects the premium or discount, which is the difference between the purchase price and the face value of the securities that has not been amortized. For U.S. Treasury and Federal agency debt securities, amortization is on a straight-line basis. For mortgage-backed securities, amortization is on an effective-interest basis. Return to table
6. Total of primary, secondary, and seasonal credit. Return to table
7. Dollar value of the foreign currency held under these agreements valued at the exchange rate to be used when the foreign currency is returned to the foreign central bank. This exchange rate equals the market exchange rate used when the foreign currency was acquired from the foreign central bank. Return to table
8. Book value. Return to table
9. As of October 29, 2014, TALF LLC had purchased no assets from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Return to table
10. Fair value, reflecting values as of September 30, 2014. Fair value reflects an estimate of the price that would be received upon selling an asset if the transaction were to be conducted in an orderly market on the measurement date. Fair values are updated quarterly. Return to table
11. Revalued daily at current foreign currency exchange rates. Return to table
12. Cash value of agreements, which are collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities, federal agency debt securities, and mortgage-backed securities. Return to table
13. Includes deposits held at the Reserve Banks by international and multilateral organizations, government-sponsored enterprises, and designated financial market utilities. Return to table
