Fed Balance Sheet

The Fed Balance Sheet is statistical release H.4.1, the weekly balance sheet of the United States central bank. It shows one balance sheet for each of the 12 Reserve Banks and one consolidated sheet, with factors that supply and absorb reserves. Its headline is total assets, and reserve balances are supply minus absorption, measured by census with no sample or survey. It has no seasonal adjustment and does not measure the federal budget, commercial banks in H.8, or money in H.6.

The Board publishes H.4.1 weekly, typically on Thursday around 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Table 1 gives daily averages for the week ended Wednesday and that Wednesday level, with changes from the prior week and year ago. Holiday weeks can shift timing, with maturity splits, MBS detail, facility detail, data files, and the New York Fed list each Wednesday. There is no scheduled revision cycle, old releases stay as published, currency lines are estimated, and table changes are announced in advance.

Changes come from policy assets that add reserves and cash items that absorb reserves.

• Securities held outright: core SOMA policy portfolio of Treasuries, agency debt and agency MBS that sets the stance.
• Loans and repos: discount window borrowing, temporary repo support and crisis LLC holdings that show stress use.
• Other assets and gold: small Treasury sourced gold, SDR certificates, Treasury currency, swaps and foreign assets.
• Currency in circulation: paper notes held by the public, the largest absorbing item that grows steadily.
• Reverse repos: cash value sales that absorb reserves, with foreign official and overnight money fund take up.
• Deposits and reserves: Treasury account moves with tax and spending, plus foreign and other deposits, with reserves as leftover and shortfalls as deferred asset.

Monthly runoff caps started at 30 for Treasuries and 17.5 for agency debt and MBS in June 2022. They rose to 60 and 35 after three months. The Treasury cap then fell to 25 in June 2024 and to 5 in April 2025, with agency held at 35.

The record release for April 14, 2022, with data as of April 13, 2022, showed total assets of 8.965 trillion. Securities held outright averaged 8.483 trillion, with Treasuries at 5.762 trillion and MBS at 2.719 trillion. Supply rose 1.212 trillion from a year earlier, yet reserves fell 154 billion as reverse repos rose 1.736 trillion. The peak came before quantitative tightening that began in June 2022, proving asset growth does not pass one for one into reserves.

1. Consolidate: record each of the 12 Reserve Banks, then remove internal balances, with SOMA holdings at amortized cost.
2. Value securities: use face value for Treasuries plus inflation compensation, and remaining principal for MBS, adding premium and subtracting discount. Premium and discount spread purchase gaps over life.
3. Value the rest: record repos in cash terms and swaps at the return rate, price foreign assets daily, and hold gold at official values. Treasury currency lines are estimated.
4. Balance: set supply equal to absorption plus reserves, and assets equal to liabilities plus capital, allowing rounding gaps.
5. Example: hold Treasuries face 100 plus MBS 40 plus premium 3 for credit of 143, adding gold 2 and currency 1 for supply of 146. Absorbing currency 60 plus reverse repos 20 plus Treasury deposits 16 gives 96, leaving reserves at 50. A paydown of 5 to MBS 35 cuts supply to 141 and reserves to 45 unless drains move the other way.