Approval of 2002 fee schedules for reserve bank payment services - Announcements - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Federal Reserve Bulletin, Dec, 2001

The Federal Reserve Board approved on October 31, 2001, fee schedules for Federal Reserve Bank payment services, effective January 2, 2002.

Overall, the price level for Federal Reserve priced services in 2002 is projected to increase 2.1 percent from the 2001 level. Because of fee reductions in recent years, the overall price level has risen only 3.5 percent since 1996.

Prices across all electronic payment services will decline 5.0 percent in 2002, a reflection of lower prices for Fedwire funds and book-entry securities transactions. Automated clearinghouse prices, which were lowered in October 2001, will remain at their current levels. The price reductions reflect continued efficiencies gained from consolidating the Federal Reserve's electronic payment operations. Since 1996, prices for all electronic payment services have declined more than 53 percent.

Check service fees will increase, on average, approximately 4 percent compared with current fees, a reflection in part of investments in check automation and electronic check technologies.

These investments should lead to greater operating efficiencies at the Reserve Banks and result in long-run cost savings.

The 2002 priced services fee schedules are available at the Federal Reserve's financial services web site: www.frbservices.org.

The Board also approved the 2002 private-sector adjustment factor (PSAF) for Reserve Bank priced services of $150.1 million and the 2002 net income on clearing balances (NICB) of negative $18.1 million, which reflect the PSAF method changes recently approved by the Board. These changes reduce the PSAF and NICB by $56.8 million and $58.8 million, respectively, from their 2001 levels.

The PSAF is an allowance for taxes and other imputed expenses that would have to be paid and return on capital that would have to be earned if the Federal Reserve's priced services were provided by a private business. The NICB is the imputed investment income from the balances held by depository institutions to settle priced service transactions, less the related cost of earnings credits granted to the institutions. The Monetary Control Act of 1980 requires the Federal Reserve to recover the costs of providing priced payment services, including the PSAF, over the long run, to promote competition between the Reserve Banks and private-sector service providers.

The Reserve Banks project that they will recover 96.2 percent of their priced services costs, including operating costs and the imputed costs and target return on equity (ROE), in 2002.

The Reserve Banks expect to earn $955.9 million in revenue while incurring operating and imputed costs of $900.9 million, for a net income of $55.1 million compared to a target ROE of $92.5 million. The Reserve Banks estimate that they will recover 94.0 percent of their costs in 2001. During the 1991-2000 period, the Reserve Banks recovered 100.8 percent of the costs of priced services, including targeted ROE.