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NationalDebtFacts

Federal Reserve

The Fed balance sheet

The Federal Reserve holds $6.74 trillion in total assets as of the week of September 9, 2026$135 billion more than a year earlier.

Total assets

$6.74 trillion

+$15 billion in 13 weeks

Treasury securities

$4.55 trillion

+$351 billion over a year

Mortgage-backed securities

$1.91 trillion

−$189 billion over a year

Peak total assets

$8.97 trillion

week of April 13, 2022

Bank reserves

$3.04 trillion

−$114 billion over a year

Currency in circulation

$2.49 trillion

+$76 billion over a year

Treasury General Account

$844 billion

the Treasury's cash at the Fed

Reverse repos

$350 billion

peak $2.68 trillion, Apr 12, 2023

Assets: what the Fed owns

Weekly since December 2002. Shaded periods: quantitative easing (buying) and tightening (letting holdings run off), dated from FOMC announcements.

QE1QE3QTPandemic QEQT$0$2.00T$4.00T$6.00T$8.00T200320072011201520192023
Federal Reserve assets from December 18, 2002 to September 9, 2026. Total assets peaked at $8.97 trillion on Apr 13, 2022 and stand at $6.74 trillion. Source: Federal Reserve Board, H.4.1.

Liabilities: where the money sits

When the Fed buys securities it pays with reserves. Those reserves then move between banks, the Treasury's account and money market funds using the reverse repo facility.

$0$1.00T$2.00T$3.00T$4.00T200320072011201520192023
Federal Reserve liabilities from December 18, 2002 to September 9, 2026: bank reserves $3.04 trillion, currency $2.49 trillion, Treasury General Account $844 billion, reverse repos $350 billion. Source: Federal Reserve Board, H.4.1.

Composition, week of September 9, 2026

Assets

Treasury bills$548 billion
Treasury notes and bonds$3.62 trillion
TIPS$277 billion
Mortgage-backed securities$1.91 trillion
Loans to banks$5.9 billion
Central bank liquidity swaps$101.0 million
Other assets$269 billion

Main liabilities

Bank reserves$3.04 trillion
Currency in circulation$2.49 trillion
Treasury General Account$844 billion
Reverse repurchase agreements$350 billion

The last eight weeks

WeekTotal assetsWeekly changeTreasuriesMBSReservesReverse repos
Sep 9, 2026$6.74 trillion+$3 billion$4.55 trillion$1.91 trillion$3.04 trillion$350 billion
Sep 2, 2026$6.74 trillion+$6 billion$4.55 trillion$1.91 trillion$2.93 trillion$358 billion
Aug 26, 2026$6.73 trillion−$15 billion$4.55 trillion$1.91 trillion$2.92 trillion$356 billion
Aug 19, 2026$6.75 trillion−$14 billion$4.54 trillion$1.93 trillion$2.93 trillion$374 billion
Aug 12, 2026$6.76 trillion+$11 billion$4.54 trillion$1.93 trillion$2.95 trillion$358 billion
Aug 5, 2026$6.75 trillion+$10 billion$4.53 trillion$1.93 trillion$3.00 trillion$319 billion
Jul 29, 2026$6.74 trillion−$9 billion$4.52 trillion$1.93 trillion$2.94 trillion$337 billion
Jul 22, 2026$6.75 trillion+$4 billion$4.52 trillion$1.94 trillion$3.06 trillion$353 billion

How to read the balance sheet

Before 2008 the Fed's balance sheet grew slowly, roughly in step with the cash people held. In the financial crisis and again in 2020 it bought Treasury and mortgage-backed securities on a vast scale to lower long-term interest rates — quantitative easing. Paying for those purchases created bank reserves, which is why reserves and total assets move together in the charts above.

Quantitative tightening runs the process in reverse: maturing securities are not replaced, and reserves or reverse repos shrink with them. The Treasury General Account is the government's own cash at the Fed; when the Treasury builds it up after a debt ceiling episode, it pulls reserves out of the banking system for a while.

What it means for the debt

Treasury securities on the Fed's balance sheet are still part of the national debt held by the public. The Treasury pays interest on them like on any other, but the Fed normally returns its profits, so part of that interest comes back. How much of the debt the Fed owns, and how that share has changed, is on the Treasury holdings page.

Common questions

What is on the Federal Reserve balance sheet?

As of September 9, 2026, the Fed held $6.74 trillion in total assets: $4.55 trillion of US Treasury securities and $1.91 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities make up most of it. On the other side, the largest items are bank reserves ($3.04 trillion) and currency in circulation ($2.49 trillion).

Is the Fed still doing quantitative tightening?

The data show total assets rising by $15 billion over the 13 weeks to September 9, 2026. Quantitative tightening means letting securities mature without replacing them; the FOMC announced the end of its most recent runoff for December 1, 2025. Changes since then reflect maturing mortgage securities, purchases of Treasury bills and swings in other items.

How large was the Fed balance sheet at its peak?

The highest weekly total in this series was $8.97 trillion on April 13, 2022, after the pandemic purchases. Today's figure is $2.22 trillion below that.

What are reverse repos, and why did they fall?

In a reverse repurchase agreement the Fed borrows cash overnight from money market funds and others, handing over securities as collateral. The total peaked at $2.68 trillion on April 12, 2023 and stands at $350 billion now. As the Treasury issued more bills, funds moved cash from the Fed into those bills.

Sources

All figures are fetched from the publishers above when this site is built; your browser does not contact them. This site is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the Federal Reserve System, any Federal Reserve Bank or any government agency. Nothing here is financial advice.