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.
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:
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.
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 person to hold those positions having also led the White House Council of Economic Advisers and the first woman to hold either post.
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 System has faced various criticisms since it was authorized in 1913. Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman and his fellow monetarist Anna Schwartz criticized the Fed's response to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 arguing that it greatly exacerbated the Great Depression. More recent prominent critics include former Congressman Ron Paul.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Term Auction Facility (TAF) was a temporary program managed by the United States Federal Reserve designed to "address elevated pressures in short-term funding markets." Under the program the Fed auctions collateralized loans with terms of 28 and 84 days to depository institutions that are "in generally sound financial condition" and "are expected to remain so over the terms of TAF loans." Eligible collateral is the same as that accepted for discount window loans and includes a wide range of financial assets. The program was instituted in December 2007 in response to problems associated with the subprime mortgage crisis and was motivated by a desire to address a widening spread between interest rates on overnight and term interbank lending,indicating a retreat from risk-taking by banks. The action was in coordination with simultaneous and similar initiatives undertaken by the Bank of Canada,the Bank of England,the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.
Sarah Bloom Raskin is an American attorney and financial markets policymaker who served as the 13th United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 2014 to 2017. Bloom Raskin previously served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2010 to 2014. She also was Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation. She was a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke University. She is currently the Colin W. Brown Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at Duke Law School. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Duke Center on Risk. She also serves as a Partner at Kaya Partners,Ltd.,a climate advisory firm.
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,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 attorney and investment banker who has served as the 16th chair of the Federal Reserve since 2018.
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 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.
