Term Repurchase Transactions
Data File:
Date:
March 7, 2008
Policy Area:
Financial Sector Policy
Economic Target:
Financial Institutions
Action Type:
Loans
Maximum Amount:
~ $100.00 billion Program allows primary dealers (i.e., banks or securities firms that trade directly with the Federal Reserve) to trade securities in exchange for a 28-day cash loan from Federal Reserve. The primary dealer gives the Federal Reserve a security and receives a cash loan, and also agrees to buy back the security in 28 days for a fixed price.
Notes:
Amount spent current as of 4/13/2010 (http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h41/Current/). Total purchases were "expected to cumulate" at $100 billion, but in fact reached over this amount at their peak. Activities of the Federal Reserve are not directly recorded in the federal budget. However, each year the Federal Reserve remits a portion of its earnings to the general treasury. This remittance is generally in the range of $20-$30 billion per year, but the CBO estimates that the Fed's earnings will be lower by approximately $90 billion over the next ten years.