# Dispel a myth - banks borrow from the Fed at zero then buy high-yield Treasuries.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-a-myth-banks-borrow-from-the-fed-at-zero-then-buy-high-yield-treasuries/653412>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [March 20, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-a-myth-banks-borrow-from-the-fed-at-zero-then-buy-high-yield-treasuries/653412 "2013-03-20T01:57:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-a-myth-banks-borrow-from-the-fed-at-zero-then-buy-high-yield-treasuries/653412/1 "2013-03-20T01:57:32Z")

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With the same funds.

This is a persistent conspiracy theory (CT) on progressive boards and is entirely untrue. Banks get their funding the same way all corporations do - raising capital.

Progressives (and I am a liberal) are developing their own sort of anti-reality talking points like this. In other words progressives are getting in on the anti-Fed nut talk.

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**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-a-myth-banks-borrow-from-the-fed-at-zero-then-buy-high-yield-treasuries/653412/2 "2013-03-20T09:55:49Z")

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What’s a “high yield treasury”? IIRC, the real projected real return on US treasuries has been zero or even negative for most of the last year.