Federal Reserve
Headquarters: 20th
Street and Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20551
Phone: 202-452-3000
Employees: 20,217
Chairman: Ben Bernanke
Website: http://www.federalreserve.gov
Career Page
The Federal Reserve System is the central
bank of the United States. It was founded by Congress in 1913
to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable
monetary and financial system. Over the years, its role in banking
and the economy has greatly expanded.
The Federal Reserve is made up of 12 regional
banks known as districts:
1st District--Boston
2nd District--New York
3rd District--Philadelphia
4th District--Cleveland
5th District--Richmond
6th District--Atlanta
7th District--Chicago
8th District--St. Louis
9th District--Minneapolis
10th District--Kansas City
11th District--Dallas
12th District--San Francisco
The Board of Governors is in Washington,
DC and oversees the system.
The Reserve is an independent entity of
the government and the regional banks are operated like private
corporations with shares of stock issued to member banks.
The Federal Reserve's duties fall into
four general areas:
1. Conducting the nation's monetary policy
by influencing the monetary and credit conditions in the economy
in pursuit of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate
long-term interest rates
2. Supervising and regulating banking institutions to ensure
the safety and soundness of the nation's banking and financial
system and to protect the credit rights of consumers
3. Maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing
systemic risk that may arise in financial markets
4. Providing financial services to depository institutions, the
U.S. government, and foreign official institutions, including
playing a major role in operating the nation's payments system
Former Chairman Alan Greenspan was very
influential in monetary policy and economic strategies. Greenspan
took office on August 11, 1987 and stepped down at the end of
January, 2006. The current Chairman is Ben Bernanke, who will
serve a four-year term.
The Federal Reserve's income is derived
primarily from the interest on U.S. government securities that
it has acquired through open market operations. Other sources
of income are the interest on foreign currency investments held
by the System; fees received for services provided to depository
institutions, such as check clearing, funds transfers, and automated
clearinghouse operations; and interest on loans to depository
institutions (the rate on which is the so-called discount rate).
After paying its expenses, the Federal Reserve turns the rest
of its earnings over to the U.S. Treasury.
According to the 2004 Annual Report, there
were 18,418 full-time employees and 741 part-time at the 12 member
banks. New York had the largest employment with 3,054 workers
followed by Atlanta at 2,061.
Employees of the Federal Reserve Banks
are not government employees. They are paid as part of the expenses
of their employing Reserve Bank. Employees at banks can receive
annual bonuses based on the bank's performance.
