Toro
Diamond Member
The Fed is owned by the member banks. The NY Fed is owned by the most powerful banks, the NY banks. So, they are like the GSE's only more private, not public with stocks on the market. You are correct about that.They are as private as the GSE's. Just because the Fed won't let a bank fail doesn't mean it is public.
They are not private like the GSEs. The GSEs had publicly traded stock that didn't hand over almost all of their profits to the government. Nor did the government implement monetary operations through the GSEs.
As for your post about the Fed being audited. Not the dividends that go to who knows who!
The dividends go back to the member banks. That audit that the Fed banks undergo every year details the regional banks' cash flows.
The "ownership" of the regional Federal Reserve banks are unlike typical equity in a bank. All members get one vote no matter the size, shares are nonstransferrable and their voting power is limited. IIRC, there are nearly 1000 banks that are part of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and JP Morgan has just as much power as Podunk Bank upstate.