The Federal Reserve‘s balance sheet grew to $4 trillion at the end of last year, and the larger securities holdings earned it enough interest to remit $79.6 billion to the U.S. Treasury. The central bank’s asset holdings rose by $1.1 trillion last year, financial statements released Friday show, as it embarked on its third major bond-buying program, aimed at supporting a weak economic recovery. The Fed’s interest income on its holdings rose $9.9 billion over the course of the year to $90.4 billion. Some economists, including within the Fed, worry a large balance sheet, now some four times its precrisis size, could it ... (full story)