The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) 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 American monetary system. Although an instrument of the U.S. government, the Federal Reserve System is considered an independent central bank due to its structural insulation from political interference. 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 central bank's remit. "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 expanded.";
Congress established three key objectives for monetary policy in the Federal Reserve Act: maximizing employment, stabilizing prices, and moderating long-term interest rates. The first two objectives are sometimes referred to as the Federal Reserve's dual mandate. Its duties have expanded over the years, and include supervising and regulating banks, maintaining the stability of the financial system, and providing financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions. The Fed also conducts research into the economy and provides numerous publications, such as the Beige Book and the FRED database.
The Federal Reserve System is composed of several layers. It is governed by the presidentially appointed board of governors or Federal Reserve Board (FRB). Twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, located in cities throughout the nation, regulate and oversee privately owned commercial banks. (See structure); ; The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets monetary policy by adjusting the target for the federal funds rate, which generally influences market interest rates and, in turn, the American economy via the monetary transmission mechanism.
The Federal Reserve has been criticized for its approach to managing inflation, perceived lack of transparency, and its role in economic downturns. Advocates of Austrian economics believe that the shift from the gold standard to fiat currency has led to long-term inflation and financial instability, with some calling for the Fed's abolition or greater accountability through audits.
Purpose Before the founding of the Federal Reserve System, the United States underwent several financial crises. A particularly severe crisis in 1907 led Congress to enact the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. The primary declared motivation for creating the Federal Reserve System was to address banking panics.Federal Reserve Act, Section 12, 12 U.S.C. § 261 (1913). Other stated purposes, are "to furnish an elastic currency, to afford means of rediscounting commercial paper, [and] to establish a more effective supervision of banking in the United States".
Today, the purposes of the Federal Reserve include the responsibilities to: Address the problem of banking panics Serve as the central bank for the United States Balance private interests of banks and the centralized responsibility of government Supervise and regulate banking institutions Protect the credit rights of consumers Conduct monetary policy by influencing market interest rates to achieve the goals of Maximum employment Stable prices, interpreted as an inflation rate of 2 percent per year on average Moderate long-term interest rates Maintain the stability of the financial system and contain systemic risk in financial markets Provide financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions Facilitate the exchange of payments among regions and the operation of the nation's payments system Respond to local liquidity needs Strengthen U.S. standing in the world economy Fractional-reserve bank
Banks usually invest the majority of the funds received from depositors. However, banking institutions in the United States are required to hold reservesamounts of currency and deposits in other banksequal to a fraction of the amount of the bank's deposit liabilities owed to customers. This practice is called fractional-reserve banking. On rare occasions, too many of the bank's customers will withdraw their savings such that the bank cannot continue operating on its own; this is called a bank run. Bank runs can lead to a multitude of social and economic problems. The Federal Reserve System was designed as an attempt to prevent or minimize the occurrence of bank runs, and possibly act as a lender of last resort when a bank run occurs. Many economists, following Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, believe that the Federal Reserve inappropriately refused to lend money to small banks during the bank runs of 1929; Friedman argued that this contributed to the Great Depression.; FRB Speech: FederalReserve.gov: Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Conference to Honor Milton Friedman, University of Chicago, Nov. 8, 2002;
Check clearing system Before the establishment of the Federal Reserve, during times of economic uncertainty, some banks refused to clear checks from certain other banks, which led to large-scale bank failure in the early 20th-century. Hence, a national check-clearing system was created in the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve can physically accept and transport cheques.
Lender of last resort In the United States of America, the Federal Reserve serves as the lender of last resort to those institutions that cannot obtain credit elsewhere, institutions the collapse of which would have serious implications for the economy. It took over this role from the private sector clearing houses which operated during the Free Banking Era. The availability of liquidity is intended to prevent bank runs.;
Fluctuations Reserve Banks provide liquidity to banks to meet short-term needs stemming from seasonal fluctuations in deposits or unexpected withdrawals through its discount window and credit operations. Longer-term liquidity may also be provided in exceptional circumstances. The rate the Fed charges banks for these loans is called the discount rate (officially the primary credit rate). By making these loans, the Fed serves as a buffer against unexpected day-to-day fluctuations in reserve demand and supply. This contributes to the effective functioning of the banking system, alleviates pressure in the reserves market, and reduces the extent of unexpected movements in the interest rates. For example, on September 16, 2008, the Federal Reserve Board authorized an $85 billion loan to stave off the bankruptcy of international insurance giant American International Group (AIG).;
Central bank
As the central bank of the United States, the Fed serves as a banker's bank and as the government's bank. As the banker's bank, it helps to assure the safety and efficiency of the payments system. As the government's bank or fiscal agent, the Fed processes a variety of financial transactions involving trillions of dollars. The U.S. Treasury keeps a checking account with the Federal Reserve, through which incoming federal tax deposits and outgoing government payments are handled. As part of this service relationship, the Fed sells and redeems U.S. government securities such as savings bonds and Treasury bills, notes and bonds. It also issues the nation's coin and paper currency. The U.S. Treasury, through its Bureau of the Mint and Bureau of Engraving and Printing, actually produces the nation's cash supply and, in effect, sells the paper currency to the Federal Reserve Banks at manufacturing cost, and the coins at face value. The Federal Reserve Banks then distribute it to other financial institutions in various ways. During the Fiscal Year 2020, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing delivered 57.95 billion notes at an average cost of 7.4 cents per note.
Federal funds
Federal funds, officially Federal Reserve Deposits, are the reserve balances that private banks keep at their local Federal Reserve Bank.; These balances are the namesake reserves of the Federal Reserve System. The purpose of keeping funds at a Federal Reserve Bank is to have a mechanism for private banks to lend funds to one another. This market for funds plays an important role in the Federal Reserve System as it is the basis for its monetary policy work. Monetary policy is put into effect partly by influencing how much interest the private banks charge each other for the lending of these funds. Federal reserve accounts contain federal reserve credit, which can be converted into federal reserve notes.
Bank regulator The Federal Reserve regulates private banks. The system was designed out of a compromise between the competing philosophies of privatization and government regulation. In 2006 Donald L. Kohn, vice chairman of the board of governors, summarized the history of this compromise:
In the structure of the Federal Reserve System, private banks elect members of the board of directors at their regional Federal Reserve Bank while the members of the board of governors are selected by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate.
Government regulation and supervision
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has a number of supervisory and regulatory responsibilities in the U.S. banking system, but not complete responsibility. A general description of the types of regulation and supervision involved in the U.S. banking system is given by the Federal Reserve:
The Federal Banking Agency Audit Act, enacted in 1978 as Public Law 95-320 and 31 U.S.C. section 714 establish that the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks may be audited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO has authority to audit check-processing, currency storage and shipments, and some regulatory and bank examination functions – though there are restrictions to what the GAO may audit.
Regulatory and oversight responsibilities The board of directors of each Federal Reserve Bank District also has regulatory and supervisory responsibilities. If the board of directors of a district bank has judged that a member bank is performing or behaving poorly, it will report this to the board of governors. This policy is described in law:
National payments system In the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, Congress reaffirmed that the Federal Reserve should promote an efficient nationwide payments system. The act subjects all depository institutions, not just member commercial banks, to reserve requirements and grants them equal access to Reserve Bank payment services. The twelve Federal Reserve Banks provide banking services to depository institutions and to the federal government. For depository institutions, they maintain accounts and provide various payment services, including collecting checks, electronically transferring funds, and distributing and receiving currency and coin. For the federal government, the Reserve Banks act as fiscal agents, paying Treasury checks; processing electronic payments; and issuing, transferring, and redeeming U.S. government securities.