The Federal Reserve seems to many people to be a mysterious power, something like the Wizard of Oz in the classic movie version of the story. Yet the Federal Reserve Banks are banks, with assets, liabilities, capital, and profits and losses like other banks. What stands out in the last year and a half are the losses — totaling a staggering sum, $149 billion. The FRBs, in other words, have run through about 3.5 times their total capital.