Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Centennial
The Federal Reserve System was created on December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. Before the new central bank could begin operations, the Reserve Bank Organization Committee, consisting of Treasury Secretary William McAdoo, Secretary of Agriculture David Houston, and Comptroller of the Currency John Skelton Williams, had the task of building a working institution from the basic framework of the new law. Twelve cities, including St. Louis, were chosen as the locations for the regional Reserve Banks and district lines were drawn. On November 16, 1914, the Reserve Banks opened for business.
Today, the Federal Reserve sets the nation's monetary policy, supervises and regulates banking institutions, maintains the stability of the financial system, and provides financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions.
Additional photographs and other media documenting the history of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis are available in an archival collection.
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December 23, 1913 | President Wilson signs into law the Federal Reserve Act
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January 21-22, 1914 | The Reserve Bank Organization Committee conducts hearings in St. Louis
The hearings provided an opportunity to solicit the views of bankers and business leaders regarding the division of the country into Districts and the location of the regional Reserve Banks. The RBOC heard arguments in support of 37 cities that sought designation as a regional Reserve Bank city.
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April 2, 1914 | Selections are announced for the 12 Federal Reserve Bank cities and Districts
The Reserve Bank Organization Committee announced selection of 12 cities for Reserve Banks and the drawing of District lines. The nation's fourth largest city, St. Louis, was selected as the headquarters of the Eighth District, which covered parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee and all of Arkansas.
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September 30, 1914 | William McChesney Martin, Sr. is appointed Federal Reserve Agent and Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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October 28, 1914 | Rolla Wells is appointed the first president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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November 14, 1914 | Federal Reserve Banks receive their charters
The charters of the Federal Reserve Banks, issued by the Comptroller of the Currency, give the Banks "Authority to Commence Business."
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November 16, 1914 | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis opens for business
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December 1915 | Staff of the St. Louis Fed moves to larger quarters
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis moved to leased space in the Bank of Commerce Building at the northeast corner of Broadway and Pine streets and changed the name of the building to the Federal Reserve Bank Building.
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September 25, 1916 | An agency is temporarily established in Memphis during cotton season
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis established a temporary office with one employee in Memphis to assist local banks during cotton season. Banks used cotton receipts as collateral for notes tendered at the agency's temporary discount window. Branch operations would soon be established in Louisville, Memphis, and Little Rock.
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December 21, 1916 | Board of Governors holds a hearing on Louisville's request for a Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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March 2, 1917 | First issue of Monthly Report on Conditions in District No. 8 is released
Now published as the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, the publication reported on retail sales, commercial sales, agriculture, and manufacturing in the Eighth District.
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May 10, 1917 | Liberty Loan campaigns begin
In 1917, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis began administration of the first of five Liberty Loan campaigns in the Eighth District. The funds raised through the campaigns financed the U.S. effort in World War I.
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February 5, 1919 | David C. Biggs is appointed governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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January 8, 1921 | The Federal Reserve becomes the sole fiscal agent for the U.S. Treasury
The Federal Reserve Banks had acted as fiscal agents for the U.S. government since 1915. Legislation passed in 1920 designated the Federal Reserve Banks the sole fiscal agent of the U.S. Treasury, responsible for "the issue, transfer, exchange, conversion and redemption of United States Government securities."
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January 5, 1924 | Fire in downtown St. Louis damages equipment during excavation for the St. Louis Fed's new building at Fourth and Locust
A fire on the first floor of a building at 415 N. Fourth Street, near the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, spread to its neighbors and caused $15,000 in damage to excavation machinery the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was using.
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June 1, 1925 | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis opens its new building at 411 Locust Street
The architects, Russell, Mauran & Crowell, and Bank officials studied other Fed buildings to identify the best features to incorporate into the design of the St. Louis Fed. An employee newsletter from June 1925 reported the new building "embodied the most modern ideas for an efficient and safe banking house."
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February 25, 1927 | President Coolidge signs into law the McFadden Act
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January 16, 1929 | William McChesney Martin, Sr. is appointed governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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October 29, 1929 | Stock market crash of 1929 ushers in the Great Depression
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March 6-13, 1933 | Banking holiday of 1933
President Roosevelt orders the suspension of all banking transactions.
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June 16, 1933 | President Roosevelt signs into law the Banking Act of 1933
Also known as the Glass-Steagall Act, the legislation separated commercial and investment banking. The law also created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure bank deposits and restore confidence in the U.S. banking system.
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August 23, 1935 | President Roosevelt signs into law the Banking Act of 1935
This Act restructured the Federal Reserve, reorganized the Fed's leadership structure, established the modern FOMC, created the FDIC, and designated the FDIC as the liquidator of failed banks.
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March 18, 1936 | First meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee
President William McChesney Martin, Sr. attended as the FOMC participant for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
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1941-1945 | The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis supports the war effort
Two hundred and fifteen employees left their positions at the Bank to serve in the armed forces during World War II. Four Bank employees died in service. On the homefront, the St. Louis Fed's staff grew from 677 employees in early 1941 to just over 1,500 employees during 1944 and 1945 due to a significant expansion in the Bank's functions in support of the U.S. Treasury.
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April 16, 1941 | Chester C. Davis is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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February 1, 1951 | Delos C. Johns is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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March 4, 1951 | Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord
The Treasury and the Federal Reserve issued a statement saying they had reached "full accord with respect to debt management and monetary policies to be pursued". This accord laid the foundation for the Fed's political independence.
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May 9, 1956 | President Eisenhower signs into law the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956
The law sought "to define bank holding companies, control their future expansion, and require divestment of their nonbanking interests." The Act upheld the principle of separation of banking and commerce and gave the Federal Reserve supervisory responsibility for multi-bank holding companies.
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May 13, 1958 | Homer Jones is appointed Director of Research at the St. Louis Fed
Homer Jones created a new, academic-style research model in St. Louis that would be adopted by other Federal Reserve Banks. A proponent of the Chicago school of economics, Jones challenged conventional Fed wisdom regarding inflation and monetary policy. He established a tradition at the St. Louis Fed of collecting and publishing data to illustrate economic conditions and policy implications, a tradition that continues to the present day. Jones facilitated the open exchange of ideas and information between the Bank's president and staff economists, attracted visiting scholars from all over the world, and advocated for increased public awareness of economic and monetary policy.
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October 1, 1962 | Harry A. Shuford is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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1964 | Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) technology and high-speed sorting equipment is introduced, allowing staff to process up to 275,000 checks per day in St. Louis
By September 1, 1967, all checks cleared through the Federal Reserve Banks were required to print the routing information using MICR technology.
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September 9, 1965 | U.S. Financial Data is first published by the St. Louis Fed
USFD was one of several data publications issued by the St. Louis Fed to increase the public's knowledge of economic conditions. Other popular data publications included Triangles of U.S. Economic Data, Monetary Trends, International Economic Conditions, National Economic Trends, and Annual U.S. Economic Data. By the 1970s, data publications produced by the St. Louis Fed became popular among the public, including reporters, economists, and students.
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January 17, 1966 | Darryl R. Francis is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Bill Poole said in his eulogy for Darryl Francis, "In FOMC meetings, Darryl Francis spoke again and again against inflation and the money growth that was causing it... More importantly, he brought the analysis to the general public through his speeches and argued the case to professional audiences through scholarly papers published by the Bank's research economists. In speaking out, Darryl Francis took a public stance that required great courage. In plain terms, he said that the organization he worked for was responsible for creating and maintaining inflation... The policies he advocated were not adopted during his term of office, but later they were the basis of the policies pursued by Paul Volcker, when he became Fed Chairman in 1979."
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November 18, 1967 | Research Department is described as a "maverick in the Fed System" by Business Week magazine
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November 1968 | The Andersen-Jordan equation is published in the November 1968 issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review
The article, "Monetary and Fiscal Actions: A Test of Their Relative Importance in Economic Stabilization," offered an alternative theory to explain the relationship between money supply and inflation.
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December 31, 1970 | President Nixon signs into law the Bank Holding Company Act of 1970
The law extended provisions of the original Act of 1956 to regulate one-bank holding companies, which were excluded in 1956. In the late 1960s, many large commercial banks formed one-bank holding companies and bought or created non-bank subsidiaries, which engaged in business activities not usually allowed for banks. There were concerns these large companies combining banking and business functions would amass too much power. President Nixon described the issues in March 1969: "Left unchecked, the trend toward the combining of banking and business could lead to the formation of a relatively small number of power centers dominating the American economy. This must not be permitted to happen; it would be bad for banking, bad for business, and bad for borrowers and consumers."
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March 22, 1976 | Lawrence K. Roos is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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April 1976 | The Federal Reserve Banks adopt the automated clearinghouse (ACH) concept, allowing financial institutions to submit payment information on magnetic tapes instead of paper checks
ACH streamlined the check clearing process, especially for routine transactions such as salaries or mortgage payments, at a time when the volume of paper checks was steadily increasing.
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August 1976 | The Roos report is issued, calling for greater public understanding of the Federal Reserve System
Newly appointed St. Louis Fed president Lawrence Roos released a "Proposed Plan for Improved Public Information for the Federal Reserve System," also known as the "Roos Report." The plan's goal was to increase public understanding of and confidence in the Federal Reserve System.
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November 30, 1976 | The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis begins hosting an annual economic policy conference
The conferences continue to draw leading economists to St. Louis to discuss economic policy.
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October 6, 1979 | Fed Chairman Paul Volcker announces changes to monetary policy to tame inflation
The measures were adopted at a meeting of the FOMC on October 6, 1979, to improve monetary controls, expand credit, and combat inflation. The St. Louis Fed had been a long-time proponent of targeting the money supply.
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March 31, 1980 | President Carter signs into law the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980
The law made Federal Reserve services available to non-member banks, savings and loans, and credit unions and required the Fed to charge for its services in competition with the private sector. Before 1980, the Fed provided its check, electronic payment, and securities services for free but only to member banks. The Federal Reserve Banks were now required to recover the costs associated with providing these services, which led to efforts to make operational processes more efficient and reduce costs.
In the Eighth District, the Fed's services could now be offered to 1,000 non-member banks, 1,000 credit unions, and 400 savings and loan institutions. The St. Louis Fed experienced an increase in the volume of check processing, the number of discount window transactions, and the volume of statistical reporting from and regarding financial institutions in the District. Donald W. Moriarty, Jr., First Vice President at the St. Louis Fed, said the law was, "the most significant piece of financial legislation since the Banking Acts of 1933 and 1935." -
Summer 1980-March 1981 | The St. Louis Fed installs high-speed equipment for processing paper currency
The new machines, called CVCS (for currency verifying, counting, and sorting), sorted currency into three categories: fit for recirculation, badly soiled or damaged, or counterfeit. Fit bills were counted and verified using the CVCS, counterfeit bills were reported to the Secret Service for investigation, and badly soiled or damaged bills could be destroyed using the CVCS's shredding capability. The machines could process bundles of bills at ten times the rate of a human operator.
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1982-1989 | The St. Louis Fed continues to increase the efficiency of check and cash processing
The Monetary Control Act of 1980 led to an increase in demand for coin and currency and the Fed's check processing services, as these services were made available to all banks. To improve efficiency, the Federal Reserve System supported electronic payment systems such as methods for electronic transfer of automated clearinghouse (ACH) transactions and FEDNET, a dial-up electronic wire transfer service. In 1987 the St. Louis Fed automated the processing of currency and cash orders by introducing Fed AutoCash, a voice response system that allowed customers to place orders via the telephone.
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October 15, 1982 | President Reagan signs into law the Garn-St. Germain Act of 1982
The legislation deregulated the savings and loan industry and mandated the deregulation of deposit interest rates.
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February 1, 1983 | Theodore H. Roberts is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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1984-1988 | St. Louis Fed leads development of Treasury Tax & Loan Resource Shared Application
The St. Louis Fed was selected to lead the development and implementation of an application designed to automate the Fed's Treasury Tax & Loan services. The Treasury Tax & Loan Resource Shared Application (TT&L RSA) provided an electronic method for accounting for the taxes depository institutions collect for the U.S. Treasury. By 1990, the application was adopted by all 12 Reserve Banks, the first time in Federal Reserve history that all 12 banks chose to adopt the same software.
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June 1, 1985 | Thomas C. Melzer is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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March 26, 1987 | Beryl Sprinkel delivers first Homer Jones Memorial Lecture
The lecture series honors the legacy of Homer Jones, the St. Louis Fed's former Director of Research, credited with establishing the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis as a leader in economic research and data. Inaugural speaker Beryl Sprinkel, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, stated, "The products of Homer Jones' style and approach at the St. Louis Fed are well known and well respected. The weekly and monthly publications of the Research Department, which have now become standard references for everyone from undergraduates to White House officials, were initially Homer's products. The St. Louis Fed Research Department became one of the most prominent in the country and its monthly Review became widely respected and earned the stature of a professional journal. The metamorphosis of the Research Department, its role in promoting policy-related research and in providing an alternative point of view within the System was what Karl Brunner has labeled 'a remarkable institutional event,' made more remarkable and more influential because it occurred within the System itself."
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1988 | St. Louis is the first Federal Reserve Bank to establish an Educational Resource Advisory Board
The Board of elementary and high school educators assists the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in its efforts to support teachers in economic education.
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1989 | The St. Louis Fed publishes A Foregone Conclusion: The Founding of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
As part of the 75th anniversary of the Federal Reserve System, the St. Louis Fed looked back at its founding with a short book by James Neal Primm, outlining the events that led to the formation of the Federal Reserve and the selection of St. Louis as a Reserve Bank city (considered a "foregone conclusion").
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August 9, 1989 | President George H.W. Bush signs into law the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) of 1989
The legislation was developed to modify industry practices and regulation of savings and loans in response to the savings and loan crisis that started in the early 1980s.
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1991-1999 | St. Louis Fed produces free publications to inform banking professionals and the public about economic and financial conditions
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1991-1995 | Federal Reserve System introduces electronic check processing capabilities
These services included the electronic transmission of the check writer's account number and other payment data directly to the paying bank. Electronic check presentment did not eliminate use of paper checks, but was a more efficient and less costly method for clearing checks. In 1993, St. Louis was the pilot site for a Treasury program that used digital imaging to record and store check information electronically, instead of on paper or microfilm. The St. Louis Fed also made improvements to its automated clearing house (ACH) and electronic fund transfer (EFT) systems.
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April 1991 | FRED® is launched as a dial-up bulletin board featuring economic data
The Research Department at the St. Louis Fed launched Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED®), its free information service. FRED was an electronic bulletin board of economic data that users could access via modems connected to personal computers.
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December 19, 1991 | President George H.W. Bush signs into law the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991
Passed in the wake of the savings and loan crisis, the law sought to strengthen the FDIC's capabilities in regulating depository institutions and introduced "Prompt Corrective Action" capital standards for banks.
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1994 | Thomas Melzer is appointed Chair of the Fed's Financial Services Policy Committee
The Financial Services Policy Committee (FSPC) was created to oversee and provide strategic planning for the Federal Reserve System's financial services to financial institutions and to the U.S. Treasury. St. Louis Fed President Thomas Melzer was appointed chairman of the committee; a small team supporting the committee, the Financial Services Research Group, was established at the St. Louis Fed to coordinate the payment industry research initiatives among the 12 Reserve Banks.
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September 29, 1994 | President Clinton signs into law the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994
The law modified existing legislation to permit broader interstate banking.
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Fall 1995 | The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis launches its first website
Shortly after it went live in fall 1995, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's website, http://www.stls.frb.org, averaged 6,000 page visits per week. The home page provided links to profiles for communities in the Eighth District, general information about the St. Louis Fed, and an online version of FRED®, the Federal Reserve Economic Data database. A single shared computer at the Bank allowed employees to access the internet.
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March 23, 1998 | William Poole is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Poole was influential as a member of the FOMC and particularly well known for his 2003 speech on the dangers of the GSEs, titled "Housing in the Macroeconomy." The speech warned of "the potential for instability" in government-sponsored enterprises, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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1999 | St. Louis Fed wins national award for its work on the Treasury Tax & Loan program
Vice President Al Gore recognized staff at the St. Louis Fed for their work in developing the TT&L software, which was credited with simplifying government and reducing costs for the federal government.
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November 12, 1999 | President Clinton signs into law the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999
Also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act or "Financial Modernization," this law removed barriers between commercial banking and other financial services. It allowed commercial banks, investment banks, securities firms, and insurance companies to consolidate, making it possible for individual companies to offer banking, investment, and insurance services. The combination of these financial services had been outlawed under the Glass-Steagall Act (1933) and the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956.
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2000 | Check Modernization project commences at all Federal Reserve Banks
In 2000, all System Reserve Banks embarked on an effort called "Check Modernization." The project included several parts: Check Standardization, Enterprise Wide Adjustments, FedImage, and Check Electronic Access and Delivery. The goal was "to install uniform software and hardware for check processing, imaging, and adjustments at all Federal Reserve check processing sites and to provide web access to check services." Declining check volume made it harder for the Federal Reserve Banks to recover their check processing costs as required by the Monetary Control Act of 1980.
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October 2000 | Treasury Tax & Loan operations for the Federal Reserve System are consolidated at the St. Louis Fed
Operations from all 12 Federal Reserve Bank Districts were consolidated at St. Louis after the Treasury Department selected St. Louis as the site for a System wide implementation of the new Treasury Investment Program (TIP) and Paper Tax System (PATAX) systems, which the St. Louis Fed started developing in 1995 to replace the old TT&L system. The TIP and PATAX systems would manage over $2 trillion in corporate taxes at the time of their launch in October 2000.
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February 23, 2001 | The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is selected as the site of the Federal Reserve System's Treasury Relations & Support Office (TRSO)
The TRSO is tasked with managing the System's relationship with the U.S. Treasury, overseeing all Fed System initiatives related to the Treasury, and serving as the Treasury's central point of contact for policy issues, new initiatives, and problem resolution.
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September 11, 2001 | The St. Louis Fed takes measures to maintain the stability and integrity of the Eighth District's payment systems and banking industry following the September 11 terrorist attacks
Employees throughout the St. Louis Bank and its Branches responded: The Cash Department handled special requests for cash from financial institutions and prepared to provide emergency currency shipments if necessary. The Credit-Discount department worked late to fulfill requests for additional liquidity from financial institutions. Staff met all deadlines for processing the U.S. Treasury's tax collection and investment services. Check department employees worked overtime processing a high volume of checks. The operational support provided by the Bank's Branches facilitated the Bank's efforts in reducing disruptions in payment services.
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2003-2013 | The St. Louis Fed continues developing and supporting applications to help the Treasury manage its money and make better investment decisions
The new systems include the Shared Accounting Model (SAM), Treasury General Account Deposit Reporting Network (TGAnet), the Central Accounting & Receiving System (CARS), Do Not Pay, and more.
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October 28, 2003 | President George W. Bush signs into law the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act
Check 21 was designed to foster innovation and enhance efficiency. The law allowed the use of the substitute check, an electronic image which is the legal equivalent of the original paper check and includes all the information contained on the original check. The use of substitute checks expedited check processing and eliminated the need to transfer paper checks between financial institutions.
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2004 | Check processing and cash operations are discontinued at the Eighth District's Louisville and Little Rock Branches
The number of checks collected through the Reserve Banks decreased by about 30 percent between 1999 and 2013 as consumers increasingly took advantage of electronic payment mechanisms such as debit cards, credit cards, and direct deposit. Consequently, the Reserve Banks took major steps to reduce check costs, including the consolidation of check operations at fewer, more centralized locations.
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2004 | St. Louis implements the "Cash Depot" concept
Leading the Federal Reserve System, the Eighth District developed a more cost efficient way of providing cash services without sacrificing quality by implementing Cash Depots in Little Rock and Louisville. Under the cash depot system, the Federal Reserve signs a contract with a third party, usually an armored carrier, which then accepts cash deposits and delivers orders for financial institutions.
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September 2004-March 2013 | The Go Direct® program is launched under the management of the St. Louis Fed's Treasury Relations Support Office (TRSO)
The St. Louis Fed's TRSO managed a public education program called Go Direct® to encourage federal benefit recipients to switch to direct deposit. By the time the public education campaign concluded in March 2013, the program surpassed the Treasury Department's goal to have 96% of all federal benefit payments made electronically and had already saved an estimated $1.15 billion with an expected savings of over $1 billion more over the next 10 years.
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2005-2013 | The St. Louis Fed increases its economic education and financial literacy offerings
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August-October 2005 | Memphis Branch provides cash processing support in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
The Memphis Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis oversaw the destruction of approximately $14 million in U.S. currency contaminated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Memphis Branch also joined other sites in the Federal Reserve System to assist with cash processing operations for the Atlanta Fed's New Orleans Branch. Community Affairs specialists from the St. Louis Fed partnered with colleagues at other Reserve Banks on outreach and communication initiatives to help affected regions recover.
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2007 | Financial crisis marks the beginning of the Great Recession
The federal government, including the Federal Reserve System, acted in response to the failure of several major financial institutions. The Federal Reserve facilitated the acquisition of the financially troubled firm, Bear Stearns, by JP Morgan Chase. The Federal Housing Finance Agency placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into government conservatorships. Financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, the largest such filing in United States history. The Board of Governors authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to lend up to $85 billion to American International Group (AIG) to prevent the firm from failing. Merrill Lynch agreed to be acquired by Bank of America. The Federal Open Market Committee reduced its target for the federal funds rate to a range of 0 to 25 basis points, thereby effectively reaching its zero lower bound. The Federal Open Market Committee announced the first of a series of large scale asset purchases (LSAPs), popularly referred to as "quantitative easing."
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2008-2013 | The St. Louis Fed's Banking Supervision & Regulation division develops new forums for communicating economic and banking information in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis
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2008 | FRED® receives over 50 million hits. The combined data services of FRED, ALFRED®, GeoFRED®, FRASER®, and CASSIDI® receive over 80 million hits.
FRED, GeoFRED, ALFRED, FRASER, and CASSIDI are internationally recognized services offered by the St. Louis Fed's Research Division; FRED alone has dedicated users in over 200 countries. These data tools are used in classrooms by students and teachers, cited by reporters, studied by researchers, referenced by librarians, and relied on by business analysts.
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2008-2011 | The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis produces resources and events to help educate the public about the financial crisis
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April 1, 2008 | James Bullard is appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
President Bullard has called on the FOMC to adopt state-contingent policy (i.e., policy that is adjusted based on the state of the economy) and has stressed the importance of defending the FOMC's inflation target from the low side as well as the high side.
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October 3, 2008 | President George W. Bush signs into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The law established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
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February 20, 2009 | Commercial check processing at the St. Louis Fed ends after 98 years in operation
The last commercial check was processed in St. Louis on February 20, 2009. The Federal Reserve System consolidated its commercial check operations from 45 regional check processing centers in 2000 to one location in Atlanta by 2012.
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July 21, 2010 | President Obama signs into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010
Passed by Congress in response to the 2008 financial crisis, the legislation included a series of reforms for the regulation of financial institutions.
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January 21, 2011 | Office of Minority and Women Inclusion opens at the St. Louis Fed
Established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion developed standards and procedures to ensure the inclusion of minorities, women, and women-owned and minority-owned business in all activities of the Bank, including procurement and workforce diversity. The Office of Minority and Women Inclusion is also required to report annually to Congress on procurement activities, recruiting and hiring practices as they relate to minorities and women, and contracting with qualified minority-owned and women-owned businesses.
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March 27, 2012 | The TRSO launches the Ready.Save.Grow. campaign for the U.S. Treasury
The Treasury Relations Support Office (TRSO), based at the St. Louis Fed, manages the Ready.Save.Grow. campaign on behalf of the U.S. Treasury to promote individual savings via Treasury Securities and to encourage the conversion from paper to electronic savings bonds. Effective January 1, 2012, the Treasury Department discontinued the sale of paper savings bonds and began selling savings bonds exclusively online through TreasuryDirect.gov. The move from paper to electronic bond sales is expected to save American taxpayers approximately $70 million over the first five years of the program.
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October 2012 | The St. Louis Fed's Emergency Communications System is used by two state banking departments to collect information on the condition of banks in the region affected by Hurricane Sandy
ECS® is a free emergency alert service developed in 2008 and managed by the St. Louis Fed's Banking Supervision and Regulation Department. The system is used by state regulators and the Fed to communicate with financial institutions during emergency situations such as natural or man-made disasters, including winter storms, hurricanes, tornados, floods or fires; chemical or biological events or threats; and events affecting the financial markets. The service allows these agencies to quickly make contact and provide pertinent regulatory information in a timely manner.
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May 23, 2013 | The St. Louis Fed establishes the Center for Household Financial Stability
The Center is a research initiative of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis focused on rebuilding the balance sheets of struggling American families.
![Leonall Andersen and Homer Jones reviewing a chart titled \"Money Stock\"](https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.fraser.stlouisfed.org/images/centennial/media/13-0200_thumb.jpg "Leonall Andersen and Homer Jones reviewing a chart titled \\"Money Stock\\"")
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Centennial. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/timeline/st-louis-fed-centennial, accessed on April 25, 2024.
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