The Federal Reserve System on Monday released the 2021 combined annual audited financial statements for the Federal Reserve Banks. The System also released individual statements for the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, the Board of Governors, and five limited liability companies (LLCs) related to lending facilities established to support the Federal Reserve's pandemic response.
An independent public accounting firm engaged by the Board issued unqualified opinions, asserting that its audit found the financial statements for the Board and Federal Reserve Banks to be free of material misstatements in accordance with the applicable auditing standards. The audited financial statements provide information about the assets, liabilities, and earnings of the Federal Reserve Banks, the Board, and the LLCs as of December 31, 2021. Additional information in the audited financial statements of the Federal Reserve Banks includes:
- Earnings were approximately $107.9 billion in 2021, representing an increase of $19.4 billion from 2020;
- Remittances to the U.S. Treasury were $109.0 billion in 2021, as compared to $86.9 billion in 2020;
- Interest income on securities acquired through open market operations totaled $122.4 billion in 2021, an increase of $21.6 billion from 2020;
- Interest expense on depository institutions' reserve balances was $5.3 billion in 2021, a decrease of $2.6 billion from 2020;
- Losses from the daily revaluation of foreign currency denominated investments were $1.9 billion in 2021, as compared to $1.5 billion gain in 2020, resulting in a year over year decrease of $3.4 billion;
- Net income from facilities related to the Federal Reserve's pandemic response was $275.0 million in 2021; and
- Operating expenses were $8.7 billion in 2021, including assessments of $2.6 billion for Board expenses, currency costs, and the operations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Total Federal Reserve Banks' assets as of December 31, 2021, were approximately $8.8 trillion, an increase of $1.4 trillion from the previous year. Total Federal Reserve Banks' assets were composed primarily of $8.6 trillion of U.S. Treasury securities, and federal agency and government-sponsored enterprise mortgage-backed securities acquired through open market operations. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York provides additional detailed information about open market operations and securities holdings on an ongoing basis on its website here.
The Board engaged KPMG LLP to audit the financial statements of the Reserve Banks and the LLCs in accordance with standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and the audit of the Board's financial statements was also conducted in accordance with the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. KPMG also conducted audits of internal controls over financial reporting for the 12 individual Federal Reserve Banks and the Board.
The Federal Reserve System financial statements are available on the Federal Reserve Board's website here.
