Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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 (particularly the panic of 1907) led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate financial crises.
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 .
Federal Reserve Chairs (left to right): Janet Yellen, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Paul Volcker.Photo taken 1 May 2014, when Yellen was Chair. As stipulated by the Banking Act of 1935, the Chairman is chosen by the president from among the sitting governors to serve four-year terms with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The government also exercises some control over the Federal Reserve by appointing and setting the salaries of the system's highest-level employees. The division of the responsibilities of a central bank into several separate and independent parts, some private and some public, results in a structure that is considered unique among central banks.
The Federal Reserve presently directly controls only the most narrow form of money, physical cash outstanding; the Federal Reserve indirectly influences the supply of other types of money. Until 2020, the Federal Reserve also used reserve requirements , enabling it to directly ensure a minimum of reserve balances of commercial banks, which ...
Also created as part of the Federal Reserve System was a 12-member Federal Advisory Committee and a single new United States currency, the Federal Reserve Note. The Federal Reserve Act created a national currency and a monetary system that could respond effectively to the stresses in the banking system and create a stable financial system.
What to expect at the Fed's next policy meeting: March 18–19, 2025. It's widely expected the Federal Reserve will hold the Fed rate at 4.25% to 4.50% after its policy meeting on March 18 and ...
The Federal Reserve began cutting the federal funds rate by 0.25% after its December 11, 2007 meeting, disappointing many investors who had expected a bigger cut; the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 300 points that day. The Fed slashed the rate by 0.75% in an emergency action on January 22, 2008, to assist in reversing a significant ...