Fed Financing

The unambiguous upside to quantitative easing is that in 2015, the Fed sent $97.8 billion in profits to the Treasury, surpassing last year’s record of $96.9 billion. These remittances have grown as the Fed’s portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities has grown from $1 trillion, before the financial crisis, to $4.5 trillion today. These payments will shrink as the Fed raises short-term rates and eventually shrinks its portfolio.