FRED Graph

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: H.15 Selected Interest Rates  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Monthly

Averages of daily figures.

For additional historical federal funds rate data, please see Daily Federal Funds Rate from 1928-1954.

The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions trade federal funds (balances held at Federal Reserve Banks) with each other overnight. When a depository institution has surplus balances in its reserve account, it lends to other banks in need of larger balances. In simpler terms, a bank with excess cash, which is often referred to as liquidity, will lend to another bank that needs to quickly raise liquidity. (1) The rate that the borrowing institution pays to the lending institution is determined between the two banks; the weighted average rate for all of these types of negotiations is called the effective federal funds rate.(2) The effective federal funds rate is essentially determined by the market but is influenced by the Federal Reserve as it uses the Interest on Reserve Balances rate to steer the federal funds rate toward the target range.(2)

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets eight times a year to determine the federal funds target range. The Fed's primary tool for influencing the federal funds rate is the interest the Fed pays on the funds that banks hold as reserve balances at their Federal Reserve Bank, which is the Interest on Reserves Balances (IORB) rate. Because banks are unlikely to lend funds in the federal funds market for less than they get paid in their reserve balance account at the Federal Reserve, the Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) is an effective tool for guiding the federal funds rate. (3) Whether the Federal Reserve raises or lowers the target range for the federal funds rate depends on the state of the economy. If the FOMC believes the economy is growing too fast and inflation pressures are inconsistent with the dual mandate of the Federal Reserve, the Committee may temper economic activity by raising the target range for federal funds rate, and increasing the IORB rate to steer the federal funds rate into the target range. In the opposing scenario, the FOMC may spur greater economic activity by lowering the target range for federal funds rate, and decreasing the IORB rate to steer the federal funds rate into the target range. (3) Therefore, the FOMC must observe the current state of the economy to determine the best course of monetary policy that will maximize economic growth while adhering to the dual mandate set forth by Congress. In making its monetary policy decisions, the FOMC considers a wealth of economic data, such as: trends in prices and wages, employment, consumer spending and income, business investments, and foreign exchange markets.

The federal funds rate is the central interest rate in the U.S. financial market. It influences other interest rates such as the prime rate, which is the rate banks charge their customers with higher credit ratings. Additionally, the federal funds rate indirectly influences longer- term interest rates such as mortgages, loans, and savings, all of which are very important to consumer wealth and confidence.(2)

References
(1) Federal Reserve Bank of New York. "Federal funds." Fedpoints, August 2007.
(2) Monetary Policy, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
(3) The Fed Explained, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

For further information, see The Fed's New Monetary Policy Tools, Page One Economics, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

For questions on the data, please contact the data source. For questions on FRED functionality, please contact us here.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: Interest Rate on Reserve Balances  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Daily, 7-Day

Starting July 29, 2021, the interest rate on excess reserves (IOER) and the interest rate on required reserves (IORR) were replaced with a single rate, the interest rate on reserve balances (IORB). See the source's announcement for more details.

The interest rate on excess reserves (IOER rate) is determined by the Board of Governors and gives the Federal Reserve an additional tool to conduct monetary policy.

See Policy Tools for more information.

For questions on FRED functionality, please contact us here.

Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (US)  

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  

Release: Reports of Condition and Income for All Insured U.S. Commercial Banks  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Quarterly, End of Period

This series is discontinued and will no longer be updated. For alternative data in FRED similar to the discontinued series, see the FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile. Additional consolidated data is available on the FDIC's Bank Data and Statistics.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis calculates this annualized series as the ratio of Tax-Adjusted Income to Average Earning Assets using raw data as collected by the FFIEC. The source provides this data at https://cdr.ffiec.gov/public/.

Tax-adjusted income is the sum of Net Interest Income (call item RIAD4074) and annualized Income/Loss before Income Taxes and Extraordinary Items and Other Adjustments (call item RIAD4301), which is multiplied by the corresponding tax rate based on the annual income level. Currently, Average Earning Assets is computed as the sum of Interest-Bearing Balances (call item RCFD0071); Total Loans and Leases, Net of Unearned Income (call item RCFD2122); Total Trading Assets (call item RCFD3545); Total Held-to-Maturity Securities (call item RCFD1754); Total Amortized Cost of Available-For-Sale Securities (call item RCFD1772); Federal Funds Sold (call item RCONB987); Securities Purchased Under Agreement to Resell (call item RCFDB989).

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis includes the sum of Federal Funds Sold (call item RCONB987) and Securities Purchased Under Agreement to Resell (call item RCFDB989) in lieu of call item RCFD1350 (Federal Funds Sold and Securities Purchased Under Agreements to Resell in Domestic Offices of the Bank and of Its Edge and Agreement Subsidiaries, and in International Banking Facilities(IBFs)) beginning in the first quarter of 2002.

Before 1993 the Average Earning Assets was the sum of Interest-Bearing Balances (call item RCFD0071); Federal Funds Sold and Securities Purchased Under Agreements to Resell in Domestic Offices of the Bank and of Its Edge and Agreement Subsidiaries, and in International Banking Facilities(IBFs) (call item RCFD1350); Total Investment Securities at Book Value (call item RCFD0390); Total Loans and Leases, Net of Unearned Income (call item RCFD2122); Total Assets Held in Trading Accounts (call item RCFD2146).

Users are advised to use the Federal Reserve Board of Governors' data dictionary to retrieve detailed information for specific call items.