The Reserve Bank of Australia does not expect to pay dividends to the Australian government for several years, as the central bank continues to absorb valuation losses affecting its foreign assets.The 2011 annual report shows the Reserve Bank recorded an accounting loss of A$4.9 billion in 2010/11, up from a loss of $2.9 billion in 2009/10.Of this, its valuation loss was $5.8 billion, or $2 billion higher than its losses in 2010.Net interest or underlying earnings were $900 million in 2011, up from $870 million in 2010.The RBA said the overall loss was absorbed by the Reserve Bank Reserve Fund, which is consistent with past practice.Reserve Bank assets still exceed $70 billion, with interest-earning assets of $50 billion - or they were at June 30.The RBA wrote in its annual report that "the prudent course will be to apply future earnings to rebuilding the RBRF before the resumption of dividend payments", and said that the Australian Government's budget projections were made on this assumption.The median RBA dividend paid to the government during the 2000s was $1.5 billion, though the dividend exceeded $5 billion in 2009.