are federally-chartered, tax-exempt (except for taxes upon real estate), non-profit corporations. Excess profits are returned to Treasury. It is a common mistake to characterize them as privately owned by the commercial banks.
"The FRBs have an intermediate legal status, with some features of private corporations and some features of public federal agencies."
"Regarding the structural relationship between the twelve Federal Reserve banks and the various commercial (member) banks, political science professor Michael D. Reagan has written that: '... the "ownership" of the Reserve Banks by the commercial banks is symbolic; they do not exercise the proprietary control associated with the concept of ownership nor share, beyond the statutory dividend, in Reserve Bank "profits." ... Bank ownership and election at the base are therefore devoid of substantive significance, despite the superficial appearance of private bank control that the formal arrangement creates.'"