The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23,1913,with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act,after a series of financial panics led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate financial crises. Over the years,events such as the Great Depression in the 1930s and the Great Recession during the 2000s have led to the expansion of the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System.
The monetary policy of the United States is the set of policies which the Federal Reserve follows to achieve its twin objectives of high employment and stable inflation.
The chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve,and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chairman presides at meetings of the Board.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is a committee within the Federal Reserve System that is charged under United States law with overseeing the nation's open market operations. This Federal Reserve committee makes key decisions about interest rates and the growth of the United States money supply. Under the terms of the original Federal Reserve Act,each of the Federal Reserve banks was authorized to buy and sell in the open market bonds and short term obligations of the United States Government,bank acceptances,cable transfers,and bills of exchange. Hence,the reserve banks were at times bidding against each other in the open market. In 1922,an informal committee was established to execute purchases and sales. The Banking Act of 1933 formed an official FOMC.
George William Miller was an American businessman and investment banker who served as the 65th United States secretary of the treasury from 1979 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party,he also served as the 11th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1978 to 1979. Miller was the first person to hold both of those posts.
William McChesney Martin Jr. was an American business executive who served as the 9th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1951 to 1970,making him the longest holder of that position. He was nominated to the post by President Harry S. Truman and reappointed by four of his successors. Martin,who once considered becoming a Presbyterian minister,was described by a Washington journalist as "the happy Puritan".
In the United States,the federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions lend reserve balances to other depository institutions overnight on an uncollateralized basis. Reserve balances are amounts held at the Federal Reserve. Institutions with surplus balances in their accounts lend those balances to institutions in need of larger balances. The federal funds rate is an important benchmark in financial markets and central to the conduct of monetary policy in the United States as it influences a wide range of market interest rates.
The Federal Reserve System,commonly known as "the Fed," has faced various criticisms since its establishment in 1913. Critics have questioned its effectiveness in managing inflation,regulating the banking system,and stabilizing the economy. Notable critics include Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman and his fellow monetarist Anna Schwartz,who argued that the Fed's policies exacerbated the Great Depression. More recently,former Congressman Ron Paul has advocated for the abolition of the Fed and a return to a gold standard.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board,is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the monetary policy of the United States. Governors are appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate for staggered 14-year terms. It is headquartered in the Eccles Building on Constitution Avenue,N.W. in Washington,D.C.
Stephen Moore is an American conservative writer and television commentator on economic issues. He co-founded and served as president of the Club for Growth from 1999 to 2004. Moore is a former member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. He worked at The Heritage Foundation from 1983 to 1987 and again since 2014. Moore advised Herman Cain's 2012 presidential campaign and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Kevin Maxwell Warsh is an American financier and bank executive who served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011.
The Greenspan put was a monetary policy response to financial crises that Alan Greenspan,former chair of the Federal Reserve,exercised beginning with the crash of 1987. Successful in addressing various crises,it became controversial as it led to periods of extreme speculation led by Wall Street investment banks overusing the put's repurchase agreements and creating successive asset price bubbles. The banks so overused Greenspan's tools that their compromised solvency in the 2007–2008 financial crisis required Fed chair Ben Bernanke to use direct quantitative easing. The term Yellen put was used to refer to Fed chair Janet Yellen's policy of perpetual monetary looseness.
The College National Fed Challenge is an annual team competition for undergraduate college students inspired by the working of the Federal Open Market Committee. The competition is intended to encourage students to learn more about the U.S. macro economy,the Federal Reserve System,and the implementation of monetary policy. The College Fed Challenge also aims at promoting interest in economics and finance as subjects for advanced study and as the basis for a career.
James Brian Bullard is the former chief executive officer and 12th president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,a position he held from 2008 until August 14,2023. In July 2023,he was named dean of the Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business at Purdue University.
Richard Harris Clarida is an American economist who served as the 21st Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2018 to 2022. Clarida resigned his post on January 14,2022,to return from public service leave to teach at Columbia University for the spring term of 2022. He is the C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Columbia University and,from 2006 until September 2018 and from October 2022 to the present,a Global Strategic Advisor for PIMCO. He is notable for his contributions to dynamic stochastic general equilibrium theory and international monetary economics. He is a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and is a recipient of the Treasury Medal. He also was a proponent of the theory that inflation was transitory during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jerome Hayden "Jay" Powell is an American investment banker and lawyer serving since 2018 as the 16th chair of the Federal Reserve.
Judy Lynn Shelton is an American economic advisor to former President Donald Trump. She is known for her advocacy for a return to the gold standard and for her criticisms of the Federal Reserve. Trump announced on July 2,2019,that he would nominate Shelton to the Fed. Her nomination stalled on November 17,2020,with a 47–50 vote in the Senate,and her nomination was eventually withdrawn by President Joe Biden in February 2021.
Marvin Seth Goodfriend was an American economist. He held the Allan H. Meltzer Professorship in economics at Carnegie Mellon University;he was previously the director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Following his 2017 nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors,the White House decided to forgo renominating Goodfriend at the beginning of the new term.
Michelle White "Miki" Bowman is an American attorney who has served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2018. She is the first person to fill the community bank seat on the board,a seat created by a 2015 law.
The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the second-highest officer of the Federal Reserve,after the chair of the Federal Reserve. In the absence of the chair,the vice chair presides over the meetings Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
