Fedwire Securities Service

The Fedwire Securities Service (FSS) is the central securities depository (CSD) for U.S. government securities, owned and operated by the Federal Reserve. As of 2018 it was the world's largest CSD by value of securities held, well ahead of the Depository Trust Company and of Euroclear Bank.^[1]: 69

Overview

The FSS started when the Federal Reserve began operating a book-entry system for U.S. Treasuries in 1968.^[2]: 2 Other federal and federally sponsored agencies followed suit in the 1970s and started issuing book-entry securities. In 1985, mortgage-backed securities were also issued in book-entry form by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, followed by Ginnie Mae in 1986.^[3]

Thus, the FSS has developed to provide issuance, maintenance, transfer and settlement services for all marketable U.S. Treasury securities and also some securities issued by other federal government agencies, government-sponsored enterprises, and international organizations such as the World Bank.^[4] The Fedwire Securities Service is also the key interbank settlement system for Fedwire-eligible securities.^[5]: 3

See also

• TARGET2-Securities
• BOJ-NET JGB Services