The Federal Reserve reported an operational loss of $77.6 billion in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of significant losses. In 2023, the Federal Reserve incurred a loss of $114.5 billion, bringing the two-year cumulative loss to $192.1 billion. The primary reasons for the losses stem from the economic stimulus measures taken by the Federal Reserve in response to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, as well as substantial interest rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 to combat high inflation. The benchmark interest rate rose from near zero to 5.25%-5.5%.
As a self-funded institution, the Federal Reserve typically covers its operational expenses through securities revenue, with any surplus submitted to the U.S. Treasury. From 2012 to 2021, the Federal Reserve transferred over $870 billion to the Treasury, with $109 billion remitted in 2021 alone. However, since 2022, given the losses, the Federal Reserve has established a "deferred asset" account, opting to use surplus to repay the deferred asset before remitting funds to the Treasury. In the first nine months of 2022, the Federal Reserve remitted $76 billion in profits, but began incurring losses in September, ending the year with $16.6 billion recorded in deferred assets.
Entering 2023, deferred assets continued to increase, reaching $133 billion, and it is expected that by 2024, this figure will further grow to nearly $216 billion.
