The Federal Reserve Banks are sort-of private, but making a profit is not their goal and almost all of the profit goes to the federal government. Most importan

The Federal Reserve Banks are sort-of private, but making a profit is not their goal and almost all of the profit goes to the federal government. Most important policy decisions are made by the Board of Governors or the Federal Open Market Committee, where the Governors make up the majority of members. The Board of Governors is not private, it is an independent federal agency led by the 7 governors who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.