The facilities generated $20 billion in interest and fees before taking into account the $7 billion cost of funds, Michael Fleming and Nicholas Klagge, staff members at the New York Fed said in a paper released today. The period between August 2007 and December 2009 represents the time the facilities were used the most, the paper said.

The central bank's payments to the U.S. Treasury rose 65 percent last year to a record $78.4 billion on increased income from mortgage and Treasury securities it bought to boost economic growth. The figure was based on preliminary unaudited results and released last month. The Fed remitted $47.4 billion in 2009.

The Obama administration projected in its budget that the Fed's payments to the U.S. government will peak this year and decline each of the next four years, approaching levels from before the financial crisis.