The central bank’s deficit of $114.3 billion last year resulted from its efforts to stimulate the economy and then stamp out inflation.
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The Federal Reserve ran an operating loss of $114.3 billion last year, its largest ever, a consequence of its campaign to aggressively support the economy in 2020 and 2021, then
jacking up interest rates to combat high inflation.
The central bank paid more to financial institutions on interest-bearing deposits and securities than it earned from securities that it bought when interest rates were lower. That’s a result of it raising its benchmark short-term interest rate to a two-decade high, above 5%, last year.
The losses don’t affect the Fed’s day-to-day operations and won’t require the central bank to ask for an infusion from the Treasury Department. Unlike federal agencies, the Fed doesn’t have to go to Congress hat in hand to cover operating losses. Instead, the Fed
created an IOU in 2022 that it calls a “deferred asset.”