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.
A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System,the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total,one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The banks are jointly responsible for implementing the monetary policy set forth by the Federal Open Market Committee,and are divided as follows:
Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. was an American economist who served as the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure as chairman,Volcker was widely credited with having ended the high levels of inflation seen in the United States throughout the 1970s and early 1980s,with measures known as the Volcker shock. He previously served as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1975 to 1979.
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.
Janet Louise Yellen is an American economist serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26,2021. She previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She is the first woman to hold either post,and has also led the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Yellen is the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business Administration and Economics at the University of California,Berkeley.
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.
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is the federal bank for the twelfth district in the United States. The twelfth district is made up of nine western states—Alaska,Arizona,California,Hawaii,Idaho,Nevada,Oregon,Utah,and Washington—plus the Northern Mariana Islands,American Samoa,and Guam. The San Francisco Fed has branch offices in Los Angeles,Portland,Salt Lake City,and Seattle. It also has a cash processing center in Phoenix.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that,along with the Board of Governors in Washington,D.C.,make up the United States' central bank. Missouri is the only state to have two main Federal Reserve Banks.
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.
William Poole was the eleventh chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He took office on March 23,1998,and began serving his full term on March 1,2001. In 2007,he served as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee,bringing his District's perspective to policy discussions in Washington. Poole stepped down from the Fed on March 31,2008.
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.
William C. Dudley is an American economist who served as the president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2009 to 2018 and as vice-chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee. He was appointed to the position on January 27,2009,following the confirmation of his predecessor,Timothy F. Geithner,as United States Secretary of the Treasury.
Kenneth C. Froewiss was a Clinical Professor of Finance at the New York University Stern School of Business,and specialized investment banking,mergers and acquisitions,and corporate governance. Professor Froewiss also taught for the TRIUM Global Executive MBA Program,an alliance of NYU Stern,the London School of Economics and HEC School of Management,and served as Academic Director of Executive Programs at NYU Stern.
Money for Nothing:Inside the Federal Reserve is an independent feature-length American documentary about the Federal Reserve written and directed by Jim Bruce,and narrated by Liev Schreiber. It examines 100 years of the Federal Reserve's history,and discusses its actions and repercussions the US economy leading to the late-2000s financial crisis. Bruce believes "a more fully and accurately informed public will promote greater accountability and more effective policies from our central bank". The film features interviews with Paul Volcker and Janet Yellen as well as current and former Federal Reserve officials,top economists,financial historians,famous investors,and traders who provide insight on the Federal Reserve System.
Heinz Robert Heller is an economist who served as a governor of the Federal Reserve System and as president of VISA U.S.A. Inc.
Loretta J. Mester is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Raphael W. Bostic is an American economist,academic,and public servant who has served as the 15th president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta since 2017. During his academic career,Bostic served as chair of the Department of Governance,Management,and the Policy Process at the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
Thomas I. Barkin is an American central banker,who became the eighth president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on January 1,2018. He worked at global management consulting firm McKinsey &Company for 30 years in increasingly senior positions,including as global chief financial officer (CFO) and chief risk officer,with oversight of finance,legal and information technology functions,among others. He also served on the executive committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce,as an Emory University Board of Trustees member,and former board member and chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Mary Colleen Daly is an American economist,who became the 13th President and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on October 1,2018. She serves on the Federal Reserve's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee on a rotating basis. Previously,Daly was the Executive Vice President and Director of Research of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco,which she joined as an economist in 1996.
