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Opportunity Knocks
Selling Our Services to the World

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
2007 Annual Report

Contents
A Letter from the President

1

Opportunity Knocks

6

Senior Management

29

Boards of Directors

30

Officers and Advisory Councils

32

Financial Statements

33

2007 Annual Report • President’s Letter 1

A Letter from the President
A

ll of us can see the foot-

prints of globalization in everyday life. They
appear in what we buy, in our jobs, in our
evolving culture and in our investment
portfolios. While the word globalization
has been defined in many ways, I believe it
remains misunderstood by both the public
and policymakers.
I took the reins of the Dallas Fed
three years ago with a strong suspicion the
economic models used for monetary policy
were systematically overlooking globalization as a critical factor in the economy.
Essentially, these models treat the economy
as if borders are closed and what happens
beyond them matters little. In reality, borders
become more open every day, and what
happens around the world matters more
than ever.
No businessmen or women I know
would think of sourcing their inputs or selling their products or services solely within a
domestic framework. And all U.S.-based businesses look at capital markets from a global
perspective today. Yet the imaginations of
policymakers often seem confined by our
territorial borders.
At the Dallas Fed, we are rethinking this
closed-economy view. It was with great pride

2 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

last fall that we launched the Globalization

search; R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia

and Monetary Policy Institute to examine the

University’s Graduate School of Business

The Globalization and Monetary

policy implications arising from freer flows

and former chairman of the Council of

Policy Institute’s goal entails

of goods, services, capital and labor across

Economic Advisers; Otmar Issing, president

national borders.

of Germany’s Center for Financial Studies

developing the tools monetary

The Dallas Fed already boasts a top-

and former member of the European Central

policymakers need to

notch team of economists dedicated to

Bank executive board; Finn Kydland, profes-

accomplish their objectives in

researching and monitoring our dynamic

sor at the University of California, Santa

economy, and they will continue to do so.

Barbara, Dallas Fed consultant and winner of

With this new, in-house institute, we are

the 2004 Nobel Memorial Prize in econom-

ratcheting up our commitment to producing

ics; Guillermo Ortiz, governor of Banco de

groundbreaking research on key issues of

México; Kenneth S. Rogoff, Harvard profes-

globalization and monetary policy. We will

sor, Brookings Institution fellow and former

endeavor to develop better models of trade,

research director of the International Mon-

capital flows and migration; explore how

etary Fund; and William White, head of the

global demand affects commodity prices;

Monetary and Economic Department at the

examine the repercussions of the large labor

Bank for International Settlements.

the 21st century.

and consumer pools in China and India;

Mark A. Wynne, the institute’s director,

estimate the impact of trade on pricing deci-

has assembled a staff of five full-time econo-

sions; and execute other ambitious econom-

mists and recruited three highly regarded

ic research.

economists to serve as senior fellows: the

Many of the world’s most influential

University of British Columbia’s Michael B.

monetary policy scholars and practitioners

Devereux, the University of Virginia’s Francis

have agreed to be our guides and compan-

E. Warnock and Dallas Fed chief economist

ions on this fascinating intellectual journey.

W. Michael Cox.

Chairing our advisory board is John B. Taylor,

The Globalization and Monetary Policy

an eminent Stanford professor and senior

Institute’s goal entails developing the tools

fellow at the Hoover Institution and devel-

monetary policymakers need to accomplish

oper of the widely heralded Taylor rule for

their objectives in the 21st century, when it

monetary policymaking.

is critical to understand what is happening

Also on the board’s roster are Charles R.

around the world, not just at home. The insti-

Bean, executive director and chief economist

tute has a challenging mission, but one that

at the Bank of England; Martin Feldstein,

our advisors, staff and fellows believe must

Harvard economics professor and president

be accomplished if monetary policy is to be

of the National Bureau of Economic Re-

effective in the future.

2007 Annual Report • President’s Letter 3

John B. Taylor

The Globalization and
Monetary Policy Institute
The institute has a
challenging mission, but
one that our advisors,
staff and fellows believe

Charles R. Bean

Martin Feldstein

R. Glenn Hubbard

must be accomplished if
monetary policy is to be
effective in the future.

Otmar Issing

Finn Kydland

Guillermo Ortiz

Kenneth S. Rogoff

William White

Mark A. Wynne

Michael B. Devereux

Francis E. Warnock

W. Michael Cox

4 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Success Abroad
The Dallas Fed’s commitment to re-

produce so well.
Scattered throughout the essay are

search on globalization extends to our annual

stories that spotlight Texas companies tak-

U.S. companies are ready

report essays. For 2005, we examined how

ing advantage of the growing global market

to meet the world’s growing

globalization disciplines public policy and for

for services. Dallas-based Laguarda.Low

2006, how it impacts productivity and costs.

Architects designed a world-class project on

In this year’s essay— “Opportunity Knocks:

the shores of Tokyo Bay. The seismic crews

we will face competition.

Selling Our Services to the World”—Mike Cox

of Houston’s Geokinetics Inc. are doing their

Staying ahead in services

and senior economics writer Richard Alm

part in the oil and gas industry’s worldwide

counter the hand-wringing over globalization

search for new reserves. San Antonio’s Meth-

by looking at a U.S. success story: dominance

odist Healthcare System treats 1,500 foreign

in the service sector.

patients a year.

demand for services—but

trade requires well-educated
workers and adroit managers;
developing more of them will
be key to selling our services
to the world.

We export more services than any other

Global business is complex, and the Dal-

nation—by a long shot. Better still, most of

las office of FTI Consulting helps companies

what we sell abroad are highly valued ser-

cope with it. Irving-based Fluor Corp., an en-

vices—industrial engineering, entertainment,

gineering and construction firm, is just one of

health care, and the work of architects, lawyers

many Texas multinationals doing business on

and other professionals. Our growing services

a global scale. But even a small El Paso web

trade supports many well-paying jobs.

designer has found a niche for selling services

We developed our expertise in these

abroad. Many other Texas companies have

services to meet the needs of our own

done likewise, and I am sure we will see oth-

economy, but the prospects for exporting

ers follow them into the global marketplace.

them have never been brighter. Internet Age

U.S. companies are ready to meet the

technologies are shrinking the constraints

world’s growing demand for services—but

of time and space, opening global markets

we will face competition. Staying ahead in

to more services. Just as important, global

services trade requires well-educated work-

demand will rise rapidly as consumers in

ers and adroit managers; developing more

China, India and other fast-growing nations

of them will be key to selling our services

shift their spending from goods to services.

to the world. Every chance I get, I stress the

One of the essay’s valuable insights

importance of education to good jobs and

comes from explaining what economists call

rising incomes in this country—a point this

“income elasticity of demand,” a powerful

essay underscores.

concept that can help us better understand
globalization. High elasticities suggest rising
incomes will lead to rapid growth in global
consumption of many of the services we

Closer to Home
While I am on the subject of providing
good service, I am tremendously proud of

2007 Annual Report • President’s Letter 5

the Dallas Fed’s continued success in op-

receive federal benefits. The Dallas Fed as-

erational areas. In 2007, the Federal Reserve

sists this program by hosting a Go Direct call

System decided that its 22 check-processing

center and website that handle direct deposit

sites around the country would be consoli-

enrollments. Monthly participation expanded

The Dallas Fed will be

dated into just four centers. The Dallas Fed

throughout the year, and in August, our call
center processed its 1 millionth enrollment.

responsible for processing

will be responsible for processing checks de-

checks deposited in the

posited in the entire western United States,

Our public outreach and education

allowing us to play a vital role in the smooth

programs continued to make their mark on

entire western United States,

functioning of our nation’s payments system.

the Eleventh District. Our staff organized
community forums in Austin, San Antonio,

allowing us to play a vital role

I am confident in the ability of our checkprocessing staff and management to meet

Laredo, Corpus Christi, Abilene, Las Cruces,

the challenges of this consolidation while

McAllen and Amarillo. They also planned

continuing the same outstanding service to

conferences and roundtables on homeown-

financial institutions.

ership preservation and health care. In

2007 marked the first full year our cash

2007, our highly successful Building Wealth

operations handled the increased volume

program, which teaches sound financial

from the consolidation of an out-of-state cash-

management principles, was launched in

processing center and dramatic growth in

CD-ROM format. More than 70,000 Building

international deposits. As a result, the Dallas

Wealth workbooks, available in English and

Fed paid and received a record $121 billion in

Spanish, and 50,000 CDs were distributed in

currency.

48 states and six countries.

In response to pressures in the short-

It is an honor to work for and alongside

term funding markets, the Federal Reserve

the dedicated women and men of the Fed-

established a term auction facility (TAF)

eral Reserve Bank of Dallas and its branches

to help promote efficient dissemination of

in Houston, San Antonio and El Paso. They,

liquidity. As administrative and development

and their counterparts at the 11 other

site for the automated system the Reserve

Federal Reserve Banks and at the Board of

Banks use for discount window operations,

Governors in Washington, are the backbone

our Dallas team was called on to quickly

of the Federal Reserve System. I am grateful

develop the software capabilities to support

for their support and brilliant work.

the TAF.
The Federal Reserve and the U.S.
Treasury’s Financial Management Service
launched the Go Direct ® program in 2005,
aimed at increasing electronic payments
and decreasing paper checks for people who

			

Richard W. Fisher

in the smooth functioning of
our nation’s payments system.

6 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Opportunity Knocks
Selling Our Services
to the World
Over the past century,

T

oday’s rapid globalization wor-

a sprawling service sector—fully four-fifths

ries many Americans—and it’s not hard to

of our economy—that incorporates skills

figure out why. We’re bombarded by news of

and talents honed in the highly competitive

a deep, diverse pool

trade deficits, soaring oil prices, outsourced

U.S. market. We’re world-class providers of

of skilled, productive

jobs, shrinking factory employment, a weak-

financial, legal, medical, construction and

ening dollar and hazardous imports—made

industrial engineering services. We excel in

all the more troubling by the rise of such new

supplying entertainment, education and in-

competitors as China and India.

formation management. We lead in telecom-

the U.S. has developed

and well-paid service
providers.

Globalization may require us to revise
our operating manuals, but we do ourselves a
disservice when we accentuate the negative.

munications, management and consulting,
travel services and tourism.
Thanks to fundamental shifts in the

An increasingly integrated world economy

global marketplace, America’s services

promotes efficient production, lowers costs,

expertise can now exert itself worldwide. The

speeds growth and fosters better econom-

Internet, satellites and fiber-optic transmis-

ic policies. It gives U.S. consumers

sion lines have bound economies together

more access to foreign products
and U.S. producers more access

by making it cheaper and easier to collect,
process and distribute information, a key

to foreign consumers. Therein

component in supplying sophisticated ser-

lies one of the dangers in the

vices. Many services, once limited to domes-

downbeat view: It ignores the

tic markets, now trade internationally.

opportunity glo-

These new technologies have arrived

balization offers

at a time of explosive growth in global

America to sell

demand. In the past two decades, China,

our services

India and other big, fast-growing countries

to the world.
Over the past century,
the U.S. has developed a deep,

have thrown open their economies, giving
the rest of the world billions of potential new
customers. As these emerging nations grow

diverse pool of skilled, productive and

richer in coming decades, they’ll spend more

well-paid service providers. They’re part of

of their incomes on the kinds of services U.S.

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 7

companies can deliver.
We hear a lot about American business-

service workers are well-educated, commanding high pay because of their ability

es and workers facing growing competition

to add value to what they produce. Our

from low-cost rivals around the world—call

economy’s transition to services has brought

center operators in the Philippines, com-

higher incomes and better jobs, making this

puter programmers in China, accountants in

sector our best hope for prospering in the era

India, back-office workers in Brazil. We hear

of globalization.

little about U.S. service companies that create

Opportunity knocks. The U.S. has been

jobs and grow profits by expanding their

sharpening its service skills for decades. We

businesses overseas.

have what it takes to be a world-beater in the

Yet examples are everywhere. Foreign

services that provide well-paying jobs. Open-

audiences accounted for almost 60 percent

ing the door to the expansion in services

of Hollywood’s box-office revenues from

trade will lead to faster economic growth and

movies released in 2007. McDonald’s and

rising incomes. Turning away from global-

KFC serve fast food at more stores abroad

ization’s call risks squandering a golden

than here at home. A quarter of the lawyers

opportunity.

at the 15 largest U.S.-based firms work in
foreign outposts. U.S. architects design office towers, airports and stadiums in China,

Services Ascendant
A century and a half ago, German

Dubai, Canada and other foreign locales.

economist Ernst Engel documented the dif-

American forensic experts investigate

ferences in how poor and rich families spend

accidents and crimes around the globe.

their money. Those with low incomes tend

Our programmers create video games, our

to allocate relatively more to basic needs—

professors teach classes, our financial advi-

food, clothing and shelter. Higher-income

sors manage money—for both foreign and

consumers spend more on entertainment,

domestic customers.

travel, personal care and other wants.

Services are often dismissed as the

The shift from needs to wants shapes

province of dead-end jobs and low wages.

patterns of consumer demand at all income

Nothing could be more wrong. Many of our

levels. At a per capita income of $3,700, for

8 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

example, India’s consumers allocate an aver-

slowly than income. Demand grows faster

age 46 percent of their budgets to food and 3

than income for superior goods, which have

percent to recreation. At a per capita income

elasticities above 1.

of $45,000, Americans spend 12 percent on
food but 8 percent on recreation.

Using economists James Seale, Anita
Regmi and Jason Bernstein’s work on world

Engel’s observations are fundamental

consumption patterns, we calculated 2006

Economists analyze

and still hold today. Demand grows slower

elasticities for nine categories of goods and

spending patterns with

than income for needs and faster than in-

services in 116 countries. Demand patterns

come for wants. Economists analyze spend-

change markedly from low-income countries

ing patterns with a concept called income

to higher income ones (Exhibit 1, pages 10

elasticity of demand—the

elasticity of demand—the growth in demand

and 11).

growth in demand relative

relative to the growth in income.

a concept called income

to the growth in income.

Elasticities below 0 indicate inferior

Start with the most basic item—food, a
necessity for most countries but an inferior

goods and services. Spending on them de-

good for a few. For each 10 percent increase

clines as income rises. Intercity bus service is

in income, spending on food for home con-

one example, but inferior goods and services

sumption rises 6.1 percent in China and 7.1

are rare. Necessities have elasticities of 0

percent in India. In the U.S., spending drops

to 1 because consumption increases more

1.1 percent, partly because Americans eat

✯Texas Services Exporter

Laguarda.Low Architects
Urban Designers
Since its founding in 2000, Dallas-based
Laguarda.Low has completed more than 20
projects in eight countries, ranging from Brazil
to Poland to China. The firm, currently working
on assignments in 17 countries, has offices in
Beijing, Tokyo and Kiev.
	Laguarda.Low beat out eight other international architectural firms for the Toyosu retail
and lifestyle center in Tokyo, which opened in
October 2006. The 915,000-square-foot project
includes department stores, restaurants and
entertainment venues.
	The Toyosu design blends modern, functional shopping areas with flourishes that capture
the historic character of the IHI dockyards that
once stood on the site. A double-layer mesh facade mimics shipbuilding techniques. Prowlike
forms frame a large public plaza that abuts the
waterfront and offers stunning views of Tokyo
Bay.
	The company won an American Institute
of Architects award for the Toyosu project’s
residential towers.

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 9

out more as their earnings rise.
Clothing and footwear are necessities,

maintenance.
The richer families become, the larger

but poor and rich countries have roughly the

the portion of their budget spent on medi-

same elasticities. The measures decline only

cine and health care, with some of the money

slightly—from 0.93 in Madagascar, where per

paying for elective procedures. For every 10

capita income averages less than $1,000 a

percent increase in income, medical spend-

year, to 0.90 in far wealthier nations, such as

ing goes up 13.4 percent in Brazil, 13.1 in

Japan and Canada.

Russia and 12.3 in Australia. In the poorest

As incomes move up from low levels,
spending on housing and utilities rises

nations, the increase is 24 percent.
Elasticities show demand rising faster

sharply at first, then more slowly as consum-

than income in the communications and

ers shift to other goods and services. Elas-

transportation category. Communications

ticities fall from a high of 1.34 at the lowest

mainly consists of telephone service, both

income levels to 1.15 for nations like Norway,

wired and cellular. Transportation covers

where per capita income averages $40,000

cars and other goods, but it also includes

a year. A nearly identical pattern is found for

many services, such as auto repairs, airline

other household operations, a category that

flights and public transport.

includes expenditures on furnishings and

Geokinetics Inc.
Geophysical Services
Houston-based Geokinetics uses seismic
technology to help clients in the oil and gas
industry find new reserves. The company
maintains offices in 18 countries, including
Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Egypt and Australia.
Geokinetics used both proprietary and
state-of-the-art technology to conduct
three-dimensional surveys of more than 4,000
square miles around the world in 2007. The
data produced computer-generated cross-sections, maps and 3D images of the subsurface.
Geokinetics specializes in surveying in difficult environments—high mountains, dense
jungles, deserts, swamps, and the transition
zone between land and sea.
For the Florena Pauto project in Colombia’s
Llanos Foothills, crews covered a vast region
of high mountains, steep slopes, limited roads
and environmentally sensitive areas.
After 10 months in Florena Pauto, Geokinetics provided its client with about 200
square miles of data to assist with decisions
about drilling.

The data for the 116 countries don’t

✯Texas Services Exporter

10 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Consumption

Exhibit 1
Demand Moving Up
to Services
Spending data from countries at all
levels of development show how rising
per capita income shapes demand in nine
broad consumption categories. Households shift away from goods and toward
services as incomes increase.
	The center line’s 45-degree slope
connotes demand growing at the same
pace as income. A trend line’s relationship to this diagonal indicates whether a
category’s budget share tends to shrink,
stay the same or grow as we move from
poor to richer countries.
As a country’s per capita income rises,
spending on food tends to fall away from
the diagonal, suggesting that relative
demand is weakening (panel 1). Expenditures for clothing and footwear also lag
income, although at a much slower rate
(panel 2). Housing and household operations register modest gains in budget
shares, with consumer demand growing
slightly faster than income (panels 3–4 ).
Services-heavy consumption categories tend to rise faster relative to the
diagonal, indicating a strengthening of
demand as countries grow richer. This pattern holds for medical services, communications and transportation, education and
recreation (panels 5–8 ). Consumption also
rises with income for a category made up
of other products, including many services
(panel 9 ).

$48,000

1 Food at home

$12,000

$3,000

$750

$188

$47

$12

$3
$3

$12

$47

$188

$750

$3,000

$12,000

$48,000

$3,000

$12,000

$48,000

$3,000

$12,000

$48,000

Income
Consumption
$48,000

2 Clothing

$12,000

$3,000

$750

$188

$47

$12

$3
$3

$12

$47

$188

$750

Income
Consumption
$48,000

3 Housing and utilities

$12,000

$3,000

$750

$188

$47

$12

$3
$3

$12

$47

$188

$750

Income

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 11

Consumption

Consumption
$48,000

$48,000

4 Household operations

$12,000

$12,000

$3,000

$3,000

$750

$750

$188

$188

$47

$47

$12

$12

7 Education

$3

$3
$3

$12

$47

$188

$750

$3,000

$12,000

$3

$48,000

$12

$47

$188

$750

$3,000

$12,000

$48,000

Income

Income

Consumption

Consumption

$48,000

$48,000

5 Medical

$12,000

$12,000

$3,000

$3,000

$750

$750

$188

$188

$47

$47

$12

$12

8 Recreation

$3

$3
$3

$12

$47

$188

$750

$3,000

$3

$12,000 $48,000

$12

$47

Consumption
$48,000

$188

$750

$3,000

$12,000

$48,000

$3,000

$12,000

$48,000

Income

Income
Consumption
$48,000

6 Communications and transportation

$12,000

$12,000

$3,000

$3,000

$750

$750

$188

$188

$47

$47

$12

$12

$3

9 Other

$3
$3

$12

$47

$188

$750

Income

$3,000

$12,000

$48,000

$3

$12

$47

$188

$750

Income

12 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Services exhibit a high
degree of income elasticity.
Countries with rising per

allow us to separate communications and

earn more money, they can afford to allow

transportation. Looking at spending patterns

their children more years in the classroom.

for U.S. consumers only, however, we find rel-

Education is a superior good, with income

atively high elasticities for cell phone service

elasticities that range from 1.07 to 1.09, not as

and air travel. This suggests the category’s

high as the medical, recreation and commu-

overall elasticity is probably being pulled up

nications categories. Education is a priority

by the services it embodies.

because it holds the key to higher incomes,

Recreation spending exhibits the high-

but its measured elasticity may be held down

est elasticity at all income levels, indicat-

because spending decisions are often made

ing households worldwide are especially

by governments, not households.

capita incomes will likely

eager to consume more of it. The types of

follow the path trod by

recreation, of course, vary along the income

for the catchall category “other.” Made up

scale—from buying playing cards and domi-

largely of services not captured elsewhere,

noes in poor countries, to attending soccer

it includes lawyers drafting wills, CPAs filing

a growing portion of their

games in developing nations, to enjoying

tax returns and geeks fixing computers. The

spending to services.

Broadway plays in the U.S.

category also covers many of the personal

U.S. consumers and allot

In many poor households, children
drop out of school to work. As families

✯Texas Services Exporter

Consumption rises faster than income

services consumers regularly use—from
haircuts to dry cleaning.

Methodist Healthcare System
Medical Care
San Antonio’s largest provider of medical
services, Methodist Healthcare extends its
reach across borders by caring for patients from
Mexico, Spain, Russia, Brazil, India and three
dozen other countries.
With 22 San Antonio-area facilities, Methodist Healthcare offers a full range of medical
specialties—obstetrics, cardiology, oncology,
transplants. The system treated more than 1,500
international patients in 2007.
	The international services department’s
multilingual staff helps foreigners with doctors’
appointments, medical records and air ambulances. Concierge services lighten families’ burdens by tending to their needs—from travel and
accommodations to sightseeing and recreation.
In the past few years, doctors performed
a bone marrow transplant on a 5-year-old
girl from Pakistan and implanted a $90,000
automatic internal defibrillator in a patient from
Peru. Under the disease management program,
a Mexican business executive flew in for checkups every three months.

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 13

Exhibit 2

Income elasticity of demand
3

How We Consume—
From Poor to Rich
Food and clothing have
the lowest income elasticities of demand. The elasticity
for food starts well below
1 and declines as we move
from the poorest to the richest nations. Spending won’t
keep pace with global income
growth.
	Elasticities for recreation,
medical care and other
categories are high initially,
fall as income increases and
settle in at levels well above
1. Their shares of the global
consumer budget will grow
as income rises.
Six countries show the
elasticities typically associated with various income
levels.

Recreation
Other
Medical
Communications and
transportation
Household operations
Housing and utilities
Education
Clothing and footwear
Food at home

2.5

India

2

China

Mexico

South Korea

1.5

Japan

U.S.

1

.5

0

–.5

Overall, services exhibit a high degree of

$0

$9,000

$18,000

Income

better positioned to take advantage of grow-

income elasticity. Countries with rising per

ing global demand, especially if what they

capita incomes will likely follow the path trod

sell can be traded in markets where consum-

by U.S. consumers and allot a growing por-

ers have more to spend.

tion of their spending to services. Wealthier

Per capita incomes have been rising

households will want more food, energy

in many countries—Spain and Poland in

and factory goods, but global demand will

Europe, Brazil and Chile in South America,

gradually skew toward maids, hairdressers,

Thailand and Vietnam in East Asia. Their de-

entertainers, insurance agents, financial advi-

mand for services will continue to increase,

sors, doctors and other service providers.

but China and India may be the biggest

Increased consumption of services is a
hallmark of societies growing richer (Exhibit 2).

potential consumers.
Although still poor by U.S. standards,

Their changing spending patterns mean pro-

these two nations have moved up rapidly in

ducers of inferior goods will be left behind.

recent years. Combined, they have 2.4 billion

Producers of superior goods and services are

people—eight times the U.S. population—

$27,000

$36,000

$45,000

14 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

recreation.

and they, too, will want even more services.

Spending increases will become even

The emerging giants we sometimes fear may

larger as China and India continue to grow.

offer our greatest opportunity.
With its large population and fast

A big chunk of this demand will no doubt

growth, China will contribute more to the

be filled by domestic service providers, but

rise in global demand than any other country

consumers and businesses in China, India and

in 2008. The nation’s spending increases

elsewhere will also shop the world market.

alone should reach $151 billion for commu-

This will mean potential new business for

nications and transportation, $116 billion for

companies that deliver quality and value in

medical services, $87 billion for education

services exports—business for the U.S. and,

and $79 billion for recreation (Exhibit 3).

yes, for other countries as well.
In 2006, our largest markets for services

India won’t match the incremental
demand from China and the U.S., but it should

exports were countries with long-standing eco-

add $37 billion for communications and

nomic ties to the U.S.—the United Kingdom, Ja-

transportation, $25 billion for medical services,

pan, Canada, Mexico and Germany. American

$24 billion for education and $16 billion for

companies have had decades to build up busi-

Exhibit 3

U.S.

.61

$263

46%

.70

$124

12%

–.11

–$14

Clothing & footwear

7%

.91

$76

7%

.92

$24

6%

.90

$14

Housing & utilities

14%

1.19

$203

12%

1.23

$50

18%

1.15

$51

Household operations

6%

1.19

$88

5%

1.23

$22

8%

1.14

$22

Medical

7%

1.34

$116

5%

1.47

$25

11%

1.22

$32

Education

7%

1.07

$87

6%

1.08

$24

8%

1.07

$20

10%

1.21

$151

9%

1.25

$37

14%

1.15

$38

5%

1.43

$79

3%

1.69

$16

8%

1.25

$23

10%

1.32

$161

7%

1.45

$36

15%

1.21

$44

Demand elasticities

*Increase in demand

Budget shares

Demand elasticities

*Increase in demand

Communications & transportation
Recreation
Other

Budget shares

34%

*Increase in demand

Pop. 0.3 billion
$44,617 per capita GDP
1.9% annual GDP growth

Demand elasticities

Food at home

India

Pop. 1.113 billion
$3,724 per capita GDP
8.6% annual GDP growth

Budget shares

Big Countries,
Big Demands
For China and
India, fast growth and
large populations will
combine with high
elasticities to drive
strong demand for
services in 2008.
	The huge, rich U.S.
economy won’t grow
as fast, but it’s still
among the top three
contributors to global
demand.

China

Pop. 1.314 billion
$8,662 per capita GDP
10.8% annual GDP growth

*In billions

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 15

Exhibit 4
Serving It Up
to China, India
Most U.S. services exports still go to traditional
markets in Europe, North
America and Japan, but
sales to China and India
have taken off since
1992. Both countries
are now among the top
15 destinations for U.S.
services.

U.S. services exports (index, 1992 = 100)
600
2006
U.S. services exports
(in millions)
United Kingdom
Japan
Canada
Mexico
Germany
France
Switzerland
South Korea
China
Netherlands
Australia
Brazil
Italy
Taiwan
India

500

400

300

$47,887
41,253
39,307
22,443
20,635
14,935
13,153
11,454
10,900
9,944
9,109
7,557
7,528
7,136
6,659

China
India
Switzerland
South Korea
Brazil
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Australia
Canada
Taiwan
Mexico
France
Germany
Italy
Japan

200

100

0
1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

ness in these markets, and our services exports

mining services, and other business and

to them are still growing (Exhibit 4).

professional services, plus it ranked high in

China and India, largely closed to out-

2000

travel and passenger transport. India was

siders before market-friendly reforms in the

first and China second in using U.S. educa-

1980s and ’90s, have been the fastest growing

tional services.

markets for U.S. services exports in the past
15 years. Sales to China are up 500 percent
and to India, 450 percent.
By 2006, China was already among the

Our Services Edge
The price of services relative to goods
has more than doubled since returning

top 10 U.S. export markets in eight service

veterans set off on a spending spree after

categories—freight; port services; manage-

World War II. We’ve been willing to pay more

ment, consulting and public relations; legal

for services because our incomes have risen,

services; construction, engineering, architec-

services elasticities are high and the quality

tural and mining services; equipment instal-

of services has improved relative to goods.

lation and maintenance; operational leasing;

It wasn’t until the early 1980s, however,

and other business and professional services.

that prices for services exports started gain-

India joined China in the top 10 in
construction, engineering, architectural and

ing on goods (Exhibit 5). Since then, the ratio
of services to goods prices for U.S. exports

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

China and India have
been the fastest
growing markets for
U.S. services exports in
the past 15 years.

16 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Exhibit 5
Paying More for
Services—First at
Home, Then Abroad
	The prices of services
relative to goods began rising
over a half century ago in the
overall U.S. economy. This
wasn’t seen with exports
until new communications
technologies made it easier
to sell services in the global
marketplace.

Ratio of services to goods prices
2.8

2.6

2.4

2.2

Exports

2

1.8

All goods and services

1.6

1.4

1.2

1

.8
1950

1954

1958

1962

1966

1970

1974

1978

1982

1986

1990

1994

1998

2002

2006

has risen rapidly, suggesting that we’re sell-

crated, warehoused and shipped; production

ing the world more valuable services. Rising

and consumption may be widely separated

incomes in other countries and treaties that

in time and space. They’re easily traded, even

removed trade barriers also contributed to

over long distances. Most services, on the

higher relative prices for services exports.

other hand, are created for specific custom-

The timing, however, suggests the key

ers, delivered directly to them and consumed

factor at work was technology. Services’

when produced. They were difficult to trade

relative prices took off just as the revolu-

until technology reduced the barriers im-

tion in information processing and com-

posed by distance.

munications hit its stride. The invention of

Goods still account for the bulk of U.S.

the microprocessor led to computers, cell

exports, but services have gained ground, ris-

phones, the Internet and e-mail, expanding

ing from 19.6 percent of total exports in 1980

the capacity to move vast amounts of data

to 29.8 percent in 2007 (Exhibit 6, page 18).

virtually anywhere. Service producers could

The nation’s foreign sales of services totaled

connect to distant customers in ways never

$488.5 billion in 2007, far more than any

before possible.

other country. We topped the next two larg-

Services differ from goods in fundamental ways. Most goods can be mass-produced,

est service-exporting nations combined—
Britain at $275.5 billion and Germany at

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 17

$210 billion, countries that benefit from
easy access to the markets of their European
Union partners.
Breaking it down by industry, we find

imports by a factor of 13.
Media reports have focused on Americans traveling abroad in search of affordable
health care, but foreigners spent 10 times

U.S. services exports exceeded imports in 15

more on U.S. medical services than we spent

of the 20 categories tracked by the Com-

overseas in 2006. The United States leads the

merce Department—often by a large margin

world in medical research, helping doctors

(Exhibit 7, page 19). Our biggest edge was

and hospitals offer patients advanced care

in industrial engineering, where exports

they may be unable to find in their home

were almost 24 times imports. This reflects

countries.

global demand for U.S. technicians, who go

Foreigners are employing U.S. firms for

overseas to install computerized control sys-

infrastructure and exploration projects. In

tems, design industrial robots and streamline

construction, engineering, architectural and

supply chains.

mining services, our exports were nearly

In 2006, U.S. movie studios produced

10 times our imports. The next largest U.S.

such box-office hits as Pirates of the Carib-

export-to-import ratios were in database

bean: Dead Man’s Chest, helping our foreign

and other information services and installa-

distribution of films and TV shows exceed

tion, repair and maintenance of equipment.

FTI Consulting
Business Advice
Working for companies and shareholders
to preserve enterprise value, FTI Consulting
helps clients navigate the treacherous waters
of global financial, legal and regulatory
issues. It has 2,400 employees in 52 offices
around the world.
	Enhancing the expertise of FTI advisors
is proprietary technology for information
management and electronic investigation that
allows users to review, manage and transmit
documents in more than 200 languages.
In the past year, Dallas-based consultants
worked on investigations that took them to
Venezuela, India, Indonesia, Russia, Dubai,
Scotland, Angola, Ireland and Slovakia.
	The Dallas office led the financial restructuring of a telecommunications manufacturer.
FTI set up new finance and accounting systems
and arranged debt financing in six countries.
“You don’t have to be the corporate headquarters to take advantage of opportunities
in global markets,” says Terry Orr, a senior
managing director in Dallas.

✯Texas Services Exporter

18 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Exhibit 6

Index, 1970 = 100
800

U.S. Services Exports Surging
	U.S. exports of both goods and services have risen
sharply since 1970. Until the early 1980s, goods were
leading the way. Since then, however, foreign sales of U.S.
services have risen faster.
	Until the early 1980s, technology placed limits on the
ability to deliver many services to foreign markets. The
pace of services exports began picking up when a new
generation of technologies facilitated the exchange of
information and data.

700
600

Services

500
400

Goods

300
200
100
0
1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988

1991

1994 1997 2000 2003 2006

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 19

Exhibit 7

U.S. Edge in Services
Circles proportional to the dollar value of trade illustrate how U.S. exports exceed imports
by a wide margin in all but a handful of industries. America enjoys its most significant competitive advantages in industrial engineering, film distribution and medical services. The blue
circles denote exports and the tan imports. The numbers below each pair are for 2006.

Services Exports Exceed Imports
(in billions)

Travel and tourism

$85.7 : $72.0
Exports : Imports

Royalties

Financial

$62.4 : $26.4

$37.1 : $8.5

Port

$29.0 : $19.6

$11.1 : $0.8

$6.9 : $1.3

Equipment

Telecommunications

$6.3 : $4.6

$5.5 : $0.6

$5.0 : $1.0

Database and
other information

Computer and
data processing

Industrial engineering

Management, consulting
and public relations

$2.2 : $0.2

Research, development
and testing

$0.7 : $0.6

Film

$3.9 : $0.6

$3.7 : $2.5

$2.7 : $0.1

Construction

Education

$14.6 : $4.4

$2.5 : $1.6

Legal

Medical

Services Imports Exceed Exports
(in billions)

Freight

$45.7 : $17.3
Imports : Exports

Insurance

$33.6 : $9.3

Passenger fares

$27.5 : $22.2

$2.6 : $1.7

Advertising

20 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

U.S. experts are being hired to make foreign

ents. Taking this intellectual property to the

companies more efficient.

global marketplace earns them royalties and

Our law firms have polished their skills

licensing fees. What we receive from foreign-

in a highly sophisticated legal system. This

ers exceeds what we pay to other countries

wealth of talent helped give the U.S. a 5 to 1

by better than 2 to 1.

edge in legal services. Our industrial might

The U.S. ran a slight services surplus in

began making us rich more than a century

travel and tourism, the largest service cat-

ago, providing an impetus for developing

egory in international trade. Our exports also

the financial expertise needed to manage

exceeded imports in port services, telecom-

the money. This legacy explains why our

munications, computer and data processing,

financial services exports were four times

and management, consulting and public

imports in 2006. Many American colleges

relations.

and universities rank among the best in

We ran significant trade deficits in just

the world. The educational services we sell

two categories of services—freight and insur-

foreigners are three times greater than what

ance. We had smaller deficits in three other

we buy abroad.

areas—passenger fares, advertising, and

U.S. companies have developed a deep
reservoir of profitable copyrights and pat-

✯Texas Services Exporter

research, development and testing.
Broad trade patterns show the U.S.

Fluor Corp.
Engineering and Construction
Irving-based Fluor operates across six continents, handling large-scale projects in such countries as Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, China,
Mongolia and Australia. The company’s services
include engineering, procurement, construction
and maintenance.
Fluor often works in remote and inhospitable settings. From 2004 to 2007, its Houston
office was part of a global design, logistics and
construction team for an onshore oil-processing
facility on Russia’s Sakhalin Island, where winters
bring minus-40-degree temperatures and blizzard
whiteout conditions.
Some of the world’s most advanced satellitebased communications linked offices in Houston,
Moscow, India and South Korea to subcontractors
on Sakhalin Island. On a fast-track schedule, Fluor’s
engineers divided the project into 36 prefabricated
units, each weighing up to 1,700 metric tons. The
mammoth modules could only be sent by sea.
Fluor successfully completed its work on the
Sakhalin project ahead of schedule, earning the
company additional business in the region.

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 21

is globally competitive in a wide range of

trade with call centers, back-office operations

industries that employ skilled services pro-

and the like. U.S. service exporters do busi-

fessionals capable of complex and sophis-

ness at the other end of the skills spectrum.

ticated work. The services we trade involve

We provide high-value-added services—

embedded knowledge. We’re more likely to

those worth more to customers because

sell foreigners cancer treatments than cold

they embody the skills and talents of highly

remedies, merger and acquisition advice

educated professionals. Workers who add

Broad trade patterns

than patent searches, computer system

the most value earn the highest incomes.

show the U.S. is globally

design than basic programming.

The United States has been expanding
its value-added production for generations—

Exporting Knowledge
Some of Americans’ anxiety over globalization arises from a gut-level question: How

competitive in a wide

within jobs, firms and industries, and across

range of industries

the economy as a whole.

that employ skilled

Farms have shifted from labor- to

services professionals

will we maintain our high standard of living

capital-intensive production. Factories

in this new economic environment? Services

have moved from making textiles and toys

capable of complex and

exports are a big part of the answer.

to producing aircraft, pharmaceuticals and

sophisticated work.

China, India and other low-wage nations compete at the low end of services

Stanton Street
Web Developers
	Even small businesses are cashing in on
services exports.
	El Paso’s Stanton Street assembled a bilingual, bicultural and binational team to develop
Internet solutions for companies. In addition to
U.S. customers, the company found business
across the border in Mexico.
	Novamex, a food and beverage producer,
hired Stanton Street to create a website featuring its products, including Jarritos soft drinks,
Ibarra chocolates, Mineragua mineral water
and Cholula hot sauce.
Website visitors enter a Mexican mercado without ever stepping across the border.
Novamex uses Spanish and English to communicate directly with retailers serving its
target market of first- and second-generation
Mexican-Americans living in the U.S.
“We see growth opportunities for Stanton
Street based on the fact that U.S. companies
are doing more business in Mexico and Mexican companies are doing more business in the
U.S.,” says President Brian Wancho.

microchips. The services hierarchy isn’t
any different. It started with seamstresses,

✯Texas Services Exporter

22 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Exhibit 8
The Road from
Serfdom
	Looking at a broad crosssection of economies makes
the link between services and
higher incomes unmistakable. Countries with small
agricultural sectors tend to be
rich, while those allocating a
large share of labor to farming
have relatively low per capita
incomes (top).
Reducing labor in agriculture and gearing up industry
allows nations to increase
their incomes. However, industrialization’s gains no longer
occur after about a third of
labor resources have shifted
into goods production (middle).
	The richest countries have
moved beyond industry, and
most of their workers are
employed in services. The 10
countries with the highest
incomes all have at least
two-thirds of their labor in
this sector. The 10 poorest
countries still have less than
a quarter of their labor in
services industries (bottom).

GDP per capita (U.S. dollars)

Agriculture

$45,000
U.S.
Norway

$40,000

Ireland

$35,000

Switzerland

$30,000

France
Taiwan

$25,000

New Zealand
Greece

$20,000

Portugal

Hungary

Saudi Arabia

$15,000

Argentina

Chile

Russia

$10,000

Bolivia

China

Colombia

Peru Venezuela

$5,000

Romania

Brazil

10

20

30

Sudan

Yemen

$0
0

India

Morocco Vietnam

Honduras

Cuba

40

50

60

70

Tanzania

80

90

100

Percentage of total employment
GDP per capita (U.S. dollars)

Industry

$45,000

U.S.
Norway

$40,000

Ireland

Switzerland

$35,000

U.K.
Japan

$30,000
Israel

$25,000

France
Spain

Greece

Italy
Taiwan

Korea

$20,000

Portugal

Saudi Arabia
$15,000

Czech Republic
Slovak Republic

Chile

Malaysia

$10,000
China

India

$5,000

Iran

Peru

Serbia

Bolivia
Yemen

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percentage of total employment
GDP per capita (U.S. dollars)

Services

$45,000
Norway
$40,000

Ireland

U.S.

Switzerland

$35,000

U.K.
Japan

$30,000
Taiwan
$25,000

$15,000

Saudi
Arabia

Poland
Malaysia

$10,000

China Thailand

$5,000

Sudan

0

10

Mexico

Iran

Peru

India

$0
20

Yemen

Haiti

30

40

Spain
Greece

Bolivia
50

Israel

Korea

Portugal

$20,000

France

Italy

Argentina
Chile
Venezuela

Cuba

60

Percentage of total employment

70

80

90

100

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 23

launderers, clerks, telephone operators

Labor resources no longer needed by

and low-end personal services and steadily

industry find their way into services. Per

climbed upward to jobs as medical specialists,

capita incomes rise quickly once services

forensic accountants, industrial psychologists

constitute more than 50 percent of jobs, indi-

and environmental architects.

cating that economies have shifted to a new

At the macroeconomic level, agriculture

model for success, one centered on educat-

gave way to the growth of industry; in time,

ing their workers for high-end services jobs

Services are the path to

industry has given way to the expansion of

(Exhibit 8, bottom). The U.S. service sector

prosperity, not poverty.

services. This pattern has been repeated in

has expanded rapidly in recent decades and

most other nations as income growth shifts

now employs roughly 80 percent of workers.

consumer demand and the relative quality of
services improves.
Nations with 30 percent or more of their

High incomes and large service sectors

life experience and innate

go hand in hand, belying the old criticism of

talents make U.S. workers

services as a sector of low-wage, dead-end

labor in agriculture usually have incomes

jobs. The record shows that services are the

below $6,000 a year (Exhibit 8, top). As this

path to prosperity, not poverty. America’s

sector shrinks, income rises, slowly at first

service-dominated economy trails only tiny

but then at a faster pace. Countries with less

Luxembourg’s in per capita income. Right

than 5 percent of their labor in farming tend

behind us are Norway, Ireland, Switzerland

to have per capita incomes above $30,000 a

and other nations far along in the transition

year. U.S. farms and ranches employ just 1.5

to services.

percent of the nation’s workers.
The adoption of more-productive farm-

These economies couldn’t thrive unless
services jobs paid well. U.S. wages have been

ing techniques frees up rural labor, which

rising faster in services industries than in

migrates to the cities to work in manufactur-

manufacturing. Since 1990, the gains have

ing and construction. Workers fresh from

been particularly strong in finance, insur-

the farm tend to be low skilled and less

ance and real estate; education and health;

educated, but machinery and on-the-job

information; and professional and business

training quickly raise their productivity. Per

services (Exhibit 9, top). Among major job

capita incomes rise. Step by step, industrial

categories, only transportation and warehous-

economies make progress—up to a point

ing have failed to outpace manufacturing.

(Exhibit 8, middle).
Growth tends to reach a natural limit as

In 2007, average hourly manufacturing
earnings, excluding overtime, stood at $16.40,

industry approaches 30 percent of employ-

but a typical worker earned $27.93 in utilities,

ment. Above that, the share of jobs in indus-

$23.92 in information, $20.14 in professional

try falls as incomes rise. In the United States,

and business services, and $19.66 in finance,

manufacturing, mining and construction

insurance and real estate. Retail trade and

jobs topped out at a third of employment in

leisure and hospitality, however, didn’t pay as

the early 1950s and have ebbed ever since,

much as manufacturing in 2007.

falling below 20 percent.

Education, acquired skills,

High pay in services is due to human

among the most productive
in the world.

24 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Exhibit 9
Services Shine in
Pay . . .
Good services jobs are what
make developed economies
wealthier. In the U.S., services occupations that require
sophisticated knowledge pay
better than manufacturing jobs,
while those that don’t rely on
specialized knowledge have
lower wages (inset).
Relative to manufacturing,
pay for most high-end services
occupations has been rising.
The ratio has declined in only
one sector—low-skilled transportation and warehousing.

Ratio of services to manufacturing pay (index, 1990 = 100)
125
2007 average hourly earnings
Utilities
Information
Professional and business services
Finance, insurance and real estate
Wholesale trade
Education and health services
Transportation and warehousing
Manufacturing excluding overtime
Other services excluding overtime
Retail trade
Leisure and hospitality

120

115

110

105

100

95
Finance, insurance and real estate
Professional and business services
Education and health services
Information
Utilities
Leisure and hospitality

90

85
1990

. . . and Productivity
	Productivity is key to higher
pay in services. The United
States is one of three countries
well ahead of the rest of the
world in output of services per
employee. France and Italy have
large tourism industries that
boost their measured services
productivity. The U.S. has a
larger business and professional
services category.

$27.93
23.92
20.14
19.66
19.56
18.02
17.76
16.40
15.22
12.80
10.41

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

Wholesale trade
Other services excluding public administration
Retail trade
Transportation and warehousing
1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

France
Italy
United States
Germany
United Kingdom
Japan
South Korea
Turkey
Mexico
India
Iran
Russia
Thailand
Brazil
Colombia
Ukraine
Egypt
China
Philippines
Pakistan
Indonesia
Vietnam
Ethiopia
Bangladesh
Nigeria
$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

Output per employee in services

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 25

capital—workers’ know-how. Their educa-

Human capital explains the vast differ-

tion, acquired skills and innate talents allow

ences in service-sector pay. Service work-

U.S. service workers to generate average

ers with the most education and training

annual output of nearly $80,000, a figure that

command the highest hourly pay—$88.53

makes them among the most productive in

for surgeons, $67.76 for dentists, $54.65 for

the world (Exhibit 9, bottom).

lawyers and $48.77 for financial manag-

Workers’ wages derive from their pro-

ers. Jobs requiring little human capital pay

ductivity, and their productivity derives from

relatively low wages—$7.67 for fast-food

the availability of the capital needed to do

cooks, $8.99 for maids, $10.62 for taxi drivers

their jobs. In goods production, firms provide

and chauffeurs, and $11.51 for retail clerks

nearly all the capital that makes workers

(Exhibit 10).

more productive—machinery, equipment
and training.
The intellectual capital that dominates

Pay scales aren’t as diverse in goodsproducing industries, primarily because
the educational requirements don’t vary as

services, however, derives largely from

much and firms can easily supply physical

investments by the workers themselves, who

capital. Pay ranges from $48.86 for petroleum

make decisions on schooling. Knowledge

engineers, who are usually college educated,

acquired on the job embeds itself in workers,

to $9.78 for sewing machine operators, a job

and they take it with them when they change

requiring little specialized training.

employers. In short, service workers take in

Services’ human capital starts with

and out the door the knowledge-intensive

formal education, especially at colleges and

capital that makes them valuable.

professional schools. More than half those

Exhibit 10
Education Key
to Better Pay
Pay varies widely in
services. Occupations that
require a lot of education tend
to pay the highest wages, while
low-skilled ones lag far behind.
The same is true for the goods
sector, but the range of wages
is wider in services because of
greater differences in educational requirements.

Service Sector Jobs

Goods Sector Jobs

2006 average hourly wage

2006 average hourly wage

Surgeons
Dentists
Lawyers
Financial managers
Computer software engineers
Computer programmers
Accountants and auditors
Interior designers
Truck drivers
Telephone operators
Retail salespeople
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
Maids, house cleaners
Fast-food cooks

$88.53
67.76
54.65
48.77
39.42
33.42
29.17
23.08
17.46
15.73
11.51
10.62
8.99
7.67

Petroleum engineers
Industrial production managers
Mechanical engineers
Elevator installers
Building inspectors
Carpenters
Roofers
Filling machine operators
Sewing machine operators

$48.86
40.37
34.89
29.78
23.37
19.20
16.99
12.02
9.78

26 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

in management, business and financial oc-

production. Countries well endowed with

cupations have earned bachelor’s degrees

land and other natural resources sell food,

or higher. Two-thirds of workers holding

minerals, lumber and the like. Countries with

professional jobs are college graduates. By

ample plants and equipment export steel,

contrast, only 10 percent of sales workers

machinery and other manufactured goods.

finished college.
Human capital doesn’t just come from

The U.S. has the world’s most abundant
stock of knowledge. It is, of course, one

book learning; it’s not just analytical brain-

reason our country has emerged as a large

power. Today, human capital increasingly

exporter of sophisticated manufactured

reflects people skills and emotional intel-

goods. But knowledge is inherent in our

ligence, developed mainly through face-to-

high-value-added services, many of which

face contact. Here’s where America’s melting

can now be more easily exported, thanks to

pot serves us well. We are a richly diverse

today’s technology.

nation—multiracial, multicultural and multiethnic, a composite of virtually every society
on the globe.
We also have more experience than

America’s Opportunity
We live in a world of constant change,
where the new and better continually roil the

the rest of the world in delivering services.

status quo. Firms fail, workers lose their jobs

Most of our workers are already in the sector,

and old ways get left behind by the creation

where they’ve been dealing directly with other

of new products, new industries and new

people, not with machinery or the land. The

jobs. It’s the price of progress. Enduring the

combination of diversity and experience puts

economy’s constant churning is the only way

us ahead of most other countries in the ability

nations climb the ladder leading to higher-

to deliver services to a global marketplace.

value-added production and rising incomes.

In the 1930s, economists Eli Heckscher

Poor countries stand on the lower

and Bertil Ohlin refined David Ricardo’s the-

rungs. They can move upward by adding

ory of comparative advantage and showed

physical capital and reallocating resources

that nations tend to export goods and services

from agriculture to industry. Rich countries

that intensely use their abundant factors of

have already climbed to the higher rungs by

2007 Annual Report: Opportunity Knocks 27

shifting their economies toward services.
Their best bet for rising even further lies in
sharpening their ability to deliver highervalue-added services. The way to do that is
through investing in human capital—more
and better education, of course, but also
learning through work and life experiences.
Domestic demand will continue to fuel
America’s services industries, but we have an
epochal opportunity in the global marketplace. The ability to deliver more services to
distant customers comes as global demand
surges. If American service providers don’t
take advantage of the opportunity, others will.
Globalization’s critics would have us
fear our times. They’re looking for ways to
slow the integration of the world economy—
or stifle it altogether. While it might be
wise to mitigate globalization’s unwanted
side effects, a protectionist backlash risks
squandering the benefits and opportunities
globalization offers.
Trade surpluses in an array of service
industries prove America can compete in
a global marketplace. We need to become
smarter and even better educated. We need
to embrace globalization and recognize the
bright prospects for selling our services to
the world. It’s time to seize the opportunity.
—W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm

Acknowledgments
“Opportunity Knocks” was written by
W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm. The essay
is based on research conducted by Cox, senior
vice president and chief economist, Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas. Alm is senior economics writer in the Bank’s Research Department.
Julia K. Carter, a senior economic analyst at the
Bank, provided important research assistance
on the project.
	The authors wish to thank Professor James
L. Seale of the University of Florida for providing data and for numerous discussions.
Exhibit Notes and Data Sources
All consumption and income per capita are
adjusted for purchasing power parity.
EXHIBITS 1, 2 and 3
James Seale Jr., Anita Regmi and Jason
Bernstein (2003), “International Evidence on
Food Consumption Patterns,” Technical Bulletin no.1904, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
October.
The Conference Board and Groningen Growth
and Development Centre, Total Economy Database, January 2007.
World Bank, World Development Indicators
database.

Exhibit 2: The chart excludes Madagascar,
Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe,
whose recreation elasticities are too high to
be plotted on the scale used. Luxembourg is
not shown because its income is too high to be
plotted.
Exhibit 3: Authors’ calculations.
EXHIBIT 4
BEA, international economic accounts, for
international services, and national economic
accounts, for GDP chain price index.
EXHIBIT 5
BEA, national economic accounts, for GDP
chain price indexes.
EXHIBIT 6
BEA, national economic accounts, for exports
and GDP chain price index.
EXHIBIT 7
BEA, international economic accounts, for
international services.
EXHIBIT 8
World Bank, World Development Indicators
database.
CIA, The World Factbook 2007.

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), national
economic accounts, for GDP chain price index.
International Monetary Fund (IMF), World
Economic Outlook, October 2007.

EXHIBIT 9
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Current Employment Statistics, 1990–2007; Occupational
Employment Statistics, May 2006.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The World
Factbook 2007.

World Bank, World Development Indicators
database.

Exhibit 1: Luxembourg is excluded because
its per capita GDP of $53,074 is too high to
be plotted on the scale. Food includes food
at home, beverages and tobacco. Housing includes rent and utilities. Household operations
includes furniture and maintenance. Medical includes foreign patients treated at U.S.
hospitals. Education includes foreign students
in the U.S.

CIA, The World Factbook 2007.
EXHIBIT 10
BLS, Occupational Employment Statistics, May
2006. The jobs are classified in the service or
goods sector based on the industry, not the
work the job entails.
NOTE: The photo on page 12 is representational only; it does not depict an actual event
at Methodist Healthcare System.

2007 Annual Report: Senior Management 29

Senior Management

(standing from left)

(seated)

W. Michael Cox

Robert D. Hankins

Richard W. Fisher

Senior Vice President
and Chief Economist

Senior Vice President

President and
Chief Executive Officer

Robert Smith III
Millard Sweatt

Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary
Meredith N. Black

Senior Vice President

Senior Vice President in Charge,
Houston Branch
Joanna O. Kolson

Senior Vice President
Blake Hastings

Senior Vice President

Vice President in Charge,
San Antonio Branch

Harvey Rosenblum

Robert W. Gilmer

J. Tyrone Gholson

Executive Vice President and
Director of Research

Vice President in Charge,
El Paso Branch

Helen E. Holcomb

First Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer

30 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Boards of Directors
Dallas

Pete Cook
President and CEO,
First National Bank
in Alamogordo

James T. Hackett
(Chairman)
Chairman, President
and CEO, Anadarko
Petroleum Corp.

Anthony R. Chase
(Deputy Chairman)
Chairman and CEO,
ChaseCom LP

David S. Barnard
Chairman and CEO,
The National Banks of
Central Texas

James B. Bexley
Associate Professor of Finance,
Sam Houston State University

Robert A. Estrada
Chairman,
Estrada Hinojosa and Co.

Richard W. Evans Jr.
Chairman and CEO,
Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc.

Margaret Jordan
President and CEO,
Dallas Medical Resources

Herbert D. Kelleher
Executive Chairman,
Southwest Airlines Co.

Ron C. Helm
(Chairman)
Owner, Helm Land and
Cattle Co.

Cecilia O. Levine
(Chairman Pro Tem)
President, MFI International
Manufacturing LLC

D. Kirk Edwards
President,
MacLondon Royalty Co.

Fred Loya
Chairman, Fred Loya
Insurance Agency LP

Gerald J. Rubin
Chairman, President and CEO,
Helen of Troy Ltd.

F. James Volk
Regional President,
State National Bank

El Paso

William V. Flores
Deputy Secretary,
New Mexico Higher Education
Department

2007 Annual Report: Boards of Directors 31

Houston

Lupe Fraga
(Chairman)
Chairman and CEO,
Tejas Office Products Inc.

Douglas L. Foshee
President, CEO and Director
El Paso Corp.

Nancy T. Chang
(Chairman Pro Tem)
President
Apex Enterprises Inc.

Jodie L. Jiles
Managing Director,
RBC Capital Markets

Timothy N. Bryan
Chairman and CEO,
The First National Bank
of Bryan

S. Reed Morian
Chairman, CEO and President,
DX Service Company Inc.

Peter G. Traber
President and CEO,
Baylor College of Medicine

San Antonio

J. Dan Bates
(Chairman)
President, Southwest Research
Institute

Ricardo Romo
(Chairman Pro Tem)
President, University of Texas
at San Antonio

Matt F. Gorges
Chairman and CEO,
U.S. Packers and
Processors

Elizabeth Chu Richter
Chairman and CEO,
Richter Architects

G.P. Singh
Owner, Gur Parsaad
Properties Ltd.

Guillermo F. Trevino
President,
Southern Distributing

Steven R. Vandegrift
Founder and President,
SRV Holdings

32 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Eleventh District
Advisory Council

Officers
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Dallas
Richard W. Fisher
President and CEO
Helen E. Holcomb
First Vice President and COO
Harvey Rosenblum
Executive Vice President and
Director of Research
Meredith N. Black
Senior Vice President
W. Michael Cox
Senior Vice President and
Chief Economist
J. Tyrone Gholson
Senior Vice President
Robert D. Hankins
Senior Vice President
Joanna O. Kolson
Senior Vice President
Millard Sweatt
Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary
Earl Anderson
Vice President
Gloria V. Brown
Vice President
John V. Duca
Vice President and Senior
Policy Advisor

Sharon A. Sweeney
Vice President, Associate
General Counsel, Ethics
Officer and Associate Secretary

Richard J. Mase Jr.
Operations Officer

W. Arthur Tribble
Vice President and Associate Secretary

Allen E. Qualman
Operations Officer

E. Ann Worthy
Vice President
Mark A. Wynne
Vice President and Director,
Globalization and Monetary Policy
Institute

Margaret C. Schieffer
Automation Officer

Mine K. Yücel
Vice President and Senior Economist
Tommy E. Alsbrooks
Assistant Vice President
Stephan D. Booker
Assistant Vice President
Stephen P. A. Brown
Assistant Vice President and Senior
Economist
Jeffery W. Gunther
Assistant Vice President
Alfreda B. Norman
Assistant Vice President
Dean A. Pankonien
Assistant Vice President
John R. Phillips
Assistant Vice President

Robert G. Feil
Vice President

Lawrence G. Rex
Assistant Vice President

KaSandra Goulding
Vice President

Victor A. Schreck
Assistant Vice President

William C. Gruben
Vice President and Senior Economist

Gayle Teague
Assistant Vice President

Diane M. Holloway
Vice President

Robert L. Triplett III
Assistant Vice President

Donald L. Jackson
Vice President

Michael N. Turner
Assistant Vice President

Kathy K. Johnsrud
Vice President

Marion E. White
Assistant Vice President

Sherry M. Kidd
Vice President

V. Lynn Black
Relationship Management Officer

Evan F. Koenig
Vice President and Senior
Policy Advisor

Claude H. Davis
Accounting Officer

Kenneth V. McKee
Vice President and General Auditor
Harvey R. Mitchell III
Vice President
William C. Morse Jr.
Vice President

Dana S. Merritt
Human Resources Officer

William W. Shaffer Jr.
Information Technology Officer
Jay Sudderth
Relationship Management Officer

El Paso
Robert W. Gilmer
Vice President in Charge
Javier R. Jimenez
Assistant Vice President

Houston
Robert Smith III
Senior Vice President in Charge
René G. Gonzales
Vice President
Daron D. Peschel
Vice President
Donald N. Bowers II
Assistant Vice President
Randy L. Steinley
Examining Officer

Jerred G. Blanchard Jr.
Principal
Ernst and Young LLP
Houston
Crawford Brock
Owner
Stanley Korshak
Dallas
Johnny N. Cavazos
Owner and Manager
Cavazos Insurance Agency
Brownsville, Texas
François L. Chandou
President
La Cave Warehouse
Dallas
Hattie Hill
Chief Executive Officer
Hattie Hill Enterprises Inc.
Dallas
Jason M. King
Manager and Owner
J. King Family Ranch LLC
Chappell Hill, Texas
Gregory J. Rohan
President
Heritage Galleries &
Auctioneers Inc.
Dallas
Debby A. Weber
Sole Proprietor
Weber Design Associates
President
Hilltop Remodeling Inc.
Dallas

San Antonio
Blake Hastings
Vice President in Charge
D. Karen Diaz
Assistant Vice President

Federal Advisory
Council Member
James D. Goudge
Chairman and CEO
Broadway National Bank
San Antonio

Paul T. Elzner
Supervision, Reserves and Credit Officer
Karen M. Gist
Information Technology Officer
D. Kay Gribbin
Administrative Officer

As of December 31, 2007

2007 Annual Report • Financials 33

MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL
CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
March 20, 2008
To the Board of Directors of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas:
The management of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (“FRBD”) is responsible for the preparation and fair
presentation of the Statement of Financial Condition, Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income, and
Statement of Changes in Capital as of December 31, 2007 (the “Financial Statements”). The Financial Statements
have been prepared in conformity with the accounting principles, policies, and practices established by the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and as set forth in the Financial Accounting Manual for Federal Reserve
Banks (“Manual”), and as such, include amounts, some of which are based on management judgments and estimates. To our knowledge, the Financial Statements are, in all material respects, fairly presented in conformity
with the accounting principles, policies, and practices documented in the Manual and include all disclosures necessary for such fair presentation.
The management of the FRBD is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting as it relates to the Financial Statements. Such internal control is designed to provide reasonable
assurance to management and to the Board of Directors regarding the preparation of the Financial Statements in
accordance with the Manual. Internal control contains self-monitoring mechanisms, including, but not limited to,
divisions of responsibility and a code of conduct. Once identified, any material deficiencies in internal control are
reported to management and appropriate corrective measures are implemented.
Even effective internal control, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations, including the possibility
of human error, and therefore can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation of reliable
financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk
that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with
the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
The management of the FRBD assessed its internal control over financial reporting reflected in the Financial
Statements, based upon the criteria established in the Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, we believe that
the FRBD maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as it relates to the Financial Statements.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

President

First Vice President

Principal Financial Officer

34 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

To the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System and the Board of Directors
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas:
We have audited the accompanying statements of condition of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (the “Bank”)
as of December 31, 2006, and the related statements of income and changes in capital for the year then ended,
which have been prepared in conformity with the accounting principles, policies, and practices established by the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Bank’s
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as established by the Auditing
Standards Board (United States) and in accordance with the auditing standards of the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
As described in Note 3, these financial statements were prepared in conformity with the accounting principles,
policies, and practices established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. These principles, policies, and practices, which were designed to meet the specialized accounting and reporting needs of the Federal
Reserve System, are set forth in the Financial Accounting Manual for Federal Reserve Banks, which is a comprehensive basis of accounting other than accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of the Bank as of December 31, 2006, and the results of its operations for the year then ended, on the
basis of accounting described in Note 3.

March 12, 2007

2007 Annual Report • Financials 35

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS (continued)

To the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System and the Board of Directors
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas:
We have audited the accompanying statement of condition of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (“FRB Dallas”)
as of December 31, 2007, and the related statements of income and comprehensive income and changes in capital for the year then ended, which have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles established by
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. We also have audited the internal control over financial
reporting of FRB Dallas as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. FRB Dallas’s
management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial
reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the
accompanying Management Assertion. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements
and an opinion on FRB Dallas’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. The financial statements of FRB Dallas for the year ended December 31, 2006, were audited by other auditors whose report, dated
March 12, 2007, expressed an unqualified opinion on those statements.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over
financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit of the financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and
evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also
included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our
audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinions.
FRB Dallas’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, FRB
Dallas’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected
by FRB Dallas’s board of directors, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding
the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with the accounting principles established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. FRB
Dallas’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the
maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions
of the assets of FRB Dallas; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with the accounting principles established by the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and that receipts and expenditures of FRB Dallas are being made
only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of FRB Dallas; and (3) provide reasonable
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of FRB Dallas’s

36 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS (continued)
assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion
or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control
over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because
of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
As described in Note 3 to the financial statements, FRB Dallas has prepared these financial statements in conformity with accounting principles established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as set
forth in the Financial Accounting Manual for Federal Reserve Banks, which is a comprehensive basis of accounting
other than accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The effects on such financial
statements of the differences between the accounting principles established by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System and accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America are also
described in Note 3.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of FRB Dallas as of December 31, 2007, and the results of its operations for the year then ended, on
the basis of accounting described in Note 3. Also, in our opinion, FRB Dallas maintained, in all material respects,
effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on the criteria established in
Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission.

March 20, 2008

2007 Annual Report • Financials 37

Statements of Condition (in millions)
December 31, 2007
Assets
Gold certificates

$

613

December 31, 2006
$

575

Special drawing rights certificates		

98		

98

Coin		

130		

81

Items in process of collection		

126		

348

Loans to depository institutions		

1,400		

—

Securities purchased under agreements to resell		

2,043		

—

U.S. government securities, net		

32,760		

35,168

Investments denominated in foreign currencies		

653		

236

Accrued interest receivable		

281		

302

Interdistrict settlement account		

—		

3,537

Bank premises and equipment, net		

287		

294

Other assets		
28		
25
___________		___________
Total assets
$ 38,419
$ 40,664
		___________		
___________		___________
___________
		
Liabilities and Capital
Liabilities
Federal Reserve notes outstanding, net

$

Securities sold under agreements to repurchase		

32,411

$ 37,759

1,933		

1,329

Depository institutions		

635		

704

Other deposits		

1		

1

Deferred credit items		

129		

306

Interest on Federal Reserve notes due U.S. Treasury		

59		

37

Interdistrict settlement account		

2,425		

—

Accrued benefit costs		

86		

91

Deposits:

Other liabilities		
14		
13
___________		___________
37,693		 40,240
Total liabilities
		___________		___________
Capital
Capital paid-in		

363		

212

Surplus (including accumulated other comprehensive 		
loss of $15 million and $28 million at December 31, 2007
and 2006, respectively)		___________		
363		___________
212
Total capital
726		
424
		___________		___________
$ 38,419
$ 40,664
Total liabilities and capital
		
		___________		
___________		___________
___________

The accompanying notes are an integral part
of these financial statements.

38 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income
(in millions)

For the Years Ended
December 31, 2007

December 31, 2006

Interest Income
Interest on U.S. government securities

$

1,711

$

1,621

Interest on securities purchased under agreements to resell		

63		

—

Interest on investments denominated in foreign currencies		

8		

4

Interest on loans to depository institutions		___________		
2		___________
—
		
1,784		
1,625
Total interest income
			
interest expense
Interest expense on securities sold under agreements to repurchase		___________		
75		___________
61
Net interest income
1,709		
1,564
		___________		___________
Other operating income
Compensation received for services provided		

47		

60

Reimbursable services to government agencies		

15		

14

Foreign currency gains, net		

27		

14

Other income		___________		
5		___________
3
94		
91
Total other operating income
		___________		___________
				
Operating expenses
Salaries and other benefits		

117		

112

Occupancy expense		

22		

20

Equipment expense		

12		

12

Assessments by the Board of Governors		

35		

29

Other expenses		___________		
51		___________
59
Total operating expenses
237		
232
		___________		___________
1,566		
1,423
Net income prior to distribution
		___________		___________
		
Change in funded status of benefit plans		___________		
13		___________
—
Comprehensive income prior to distribution
$
1,579
$
1,423
		
		___________		
___________		___________
___________
Distribution of Comprehensive income
Dividends paid to member banks

$

17

$

12

Transferred to surplus and change in accumulated other
comprehensive loss		

151		

87

Payments to U.S. Treasury as interest on Federal Reserve notes		___________		
1,411		___________
1,324
$
1,579
$
1,423
Total distribution
		
		___________		
___________		___________
___________
The accompanying notes are an integral part
of these financial statements.

2007 Annual Report • Financials 39

Statements of Changes in Capital
for the Years Ended December 31, 2007,
and December 31, 2006
(in millions)
		

Surplus

			
			
Capital
Net Income
Paid-In
Retained
Balance at January 1, 2006
(3.1 million shares)

$ 153

$ 153

Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
$

—

Total
Surplus

Total
Capital

$ 153

$ 306

Net change in capital stock issued
   ( 1.1 million shares)		

59		

—		

Transferred to surplus		

—		

87		

—		 87		 87

Adjustment to initially apply SFAS No. 158		

—		

—		

(28)		 (28)		 (28)

Balance at December 31, 2006
(4.2 million shares)

$ 212

$ 240

Net change in capital stock issued
   ( 3.1 million shares)		 151		

$

—		

Transferred to surplus and change in
accumulated other comprehensive loss		
—		 138		
						
Balance at December 31, 2007
(7.3 million shares)
$ 363
$ 378
$
						
						

The accompanying notes are an integral part
of these financial statements.

—		

(28)

—		 59

$ 212

—		

$ 424

—		151

13		151		151
(15)

$ 363

$ 726

40 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Notes to Financial Statements
1. Structure
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (“Bank”) is part of the Federal Reserve System (“System”) and one
of the twelve Reserve Banks (“Reserve Banks”) created by Congress under the Federal Reserve Act of
1913 (“Federal Reserve Act”), which established the central bank of the United States. The Reserve
Banks are chartered by the federal government and possess a unique set of governmental, corporate,
and central bank characteristics. The Bank and its branches in El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio
serve the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, which includes Texas and portions of Louisiana and New
Mexico.
In accordance with the Federal Reserve Act, supervision and control of the Bank is exercised by a
board of directors. The Federal Reserve Act specifies the composition of the board of directors for
each of the Reserve Banks. Each board is composed of nine members serving three-year terms: three
directors, including those designated as chairman and deputy chairman, are appointed by the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board of Governors”) to represent the public, and six directors are elected by member banks. Banks that are members of the System include all national banks
and any state-chartered banks that apply and are approved for membership in the System. Member
banks are divided into three classes according to size. Member banks in each class elect one director
representing member banks and one representing the public. In any election of directors, each member bank receives one vote, regardless of the number of shares of Reserve Bank stock it holds.
The System also consists, in part, of the Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee
(“FOMC”). The Board of Governors, an independent federal agency, is charged by the Federal Reserve
Act with a number of specific duties, including general supervision over the Reserve Banks. The FOMC
is composed of members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York (“FRBNY”), and on a rotating basis four other Reserve Bank presidents
2. Operations and Services
The Reserve Banks perform a variety of services and operations. Functions include participation in
formulating and conducting monetary policy; participation in the payments system, including largedollar transfers of funds, automated clearinghouse (“ACH”) operations, and check collection; distribution of coin and currency; performance of fiscal agency functions for the U.S. Treasury, certain federal
agencies, and other entities; serving as the federal government’s bank; provision of short-term loans to
depository institutions; service to the consumer and the community by providing educational materials
and information regarding consumer laws; and supervision of bank holding companies, state member
banks, and U.S. offices of foreign banking organizations. Certain services are provided to foreign and
international monetary authorities, primarily by the FRBNY.
The FOMC, in the conduct of monetary policy, establishes policy regarding domestic open market operations, oversees these operations, and annually issues authorizations and directives to the FRBNY for
its execution of transactions. The FRBNY is authorized and directed by the FOMC to conduct operations
in domestic markets, including the direct purchase and sale of U.S. government securities, the purchase
of securities under agreements to resell, the sale of securities under agreements to repurchase, and
the lending of U.S. government securities. The FRBNY executes these open market transactions at the
direction of the FOMC and holds the resulting securities and agreements in the portfolio known as the
System Open Market Account (“SOMA”).
In addition to authorizing and directing operations in the domestic securities market, the FOMC authorizes and directs the FRBNY to execute operations in foreign markets for major currencies in order
to counter disorderly conditions in exchange markets or to meet other needs specified by the FOMC
in carrying out the System’s central bank responsibilities. The FRBNY is authorized by the FOMC to
hold balances of, and to execute spot and forward foreign exchange (“FX”) and securities contracts
for, nine foreign currencies and to invest such foreign currency holdings ensuring adequate liquidity
is maintained. The FRBNY is authorized and directed by the FOMC to maintain reciprocal currency
arrangements (“FX swaps”) with four central banks and “warehouse” foreign currencies for the U.S.
Treasury and Exchange Stabilization Fund (“ESF”) through the Reserve Banks. In connection with its
foreign currency activities, the FRBNY may enter into transactions that contain varying degrees of offbalance-sheet market risk that results from their future settlement and counter-party credit risk. The

2007 Annual Report • Financials 41

FRBNY controls credit risk by obtaining credit approvals, establishing transaction limits, and performing daily monitoring procedures.
Although the Reserve Banks are separate legal entities, in the interests of greater efficiency and effectiveness they collaborate in the delivery of certain operations and services. The collaboration takes the
form of centralized operations and product or function offices that have responsibility for the delivery
of certain services on behalf of the Reserve Banks. Various operational and management models are
used and are supported by service agreements between the Reserve Bank providing the service and the
other eleven Reserve Banks. In some cases, costs incurred by a Reserve Bank for services provided to
other Reserve Banks are not shared; in other cases, the Reserve Banks are billed for services provided
to them by another Reserve Bank.
Major services provided on behalf of the System by the Bank, for which the costs were not redistributed to the other Reserve Banks, include the Bulkdata Transmission Utility; Check Automation
Services; National Examination Data System; Desktop Standardization Initiative; Payment Application
Modernization; Lawson Central Business Administration Function; Accounts, Risk and Credit System;
and Go Direct ®.
3. Significant Accounting Policies
Accounting principles for entities with the unique powers and responsibilities of the nation’s central
bank have not been formulated by accounting standard-setting bodies. The Board of Governors has
developed specialized accounting principles and practices that it considers to be appropriate for the
nature and function of a central bank, which differ significantly from those of the private sector. These
accounting principles and practices are documented in the Financial Accounting Manual for Federal
Reserve Banks (“Financial Accounting Manual”), which is issued by the Board of Governors. All of the
Reserve Banks are required to adopt and apply accounting policies and practices that are consistent
with the Financial Accounting Manual, and the financial statements have been prepared in accordance
with the Financial Accounting Manual.
Differences exist between the accounting principles and practices in the Financial Accounting Manual
and generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), primarily due to the unique
nature of the Bank’s powers and responsibilities as part of the nation’s central bank. The primary difference is the presentation of all securities holdings at amortized cost, rather than using the fair value
presentation required by GAAP. U.S. government securities and investments denominated in foreign
currencies comprising the SOMA are recorded at cost, on a settlement-date basis, and adjusted for
amortization of premiums or accretion of discounts on a straight-line basis. Amortized cost more
appropriately reflects the Bank’s securities holdings given the System’s unique responsibility to conduct
monetary policy. While the application of current market prices to the securities holdings may result
in values substantially above or below their carrying values, these unrealized changes in value would
have no direct effect on the quantity of reserves available to the banking system or on the prospects for
future Bank earnings or capital. Both the domestic and foreign components of the SOMA portfolio may
involve transactions that result in gains or losses when holdings are sold prior to maturity. Decisions
regarding securities and foreign currency transactions, including their purchase and sale, are motivated
by monetary policy objectives rather than profit. Accordingly, market values, earnings, and any gains
or losses resulting from the sale of such securities and currencies are incidental to the open market
operations and do not motivate decisions related to policy or open market activities.
In addition, the Bank has elected not to present a Statement of Cash Flows because the liquidity and
cash position of the Bank are not a primary concern given the Reserve Banks’ unique powers and
responsibilities. A Statement of Cash Flows, therefore, would not provide additional meaningful information. Other information regarding the Bank’s activities is provided in, or may be derived from, the
Statements of Condition, Income and Comprehensive Income, and Changes in Capital. There are no
other significant differences between the policies outlined in the Financial Accounting Manual and
GAAP.
The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with the Financial Accounting Manual
requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of
assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results

42 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

could differ from those estimates. Unique accounts and significant accounting policies are explained
below.
a. Gold and Special Drawing Rights Certificates

The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury is authorized to issue gold and special drawing rights (“SDR”) certificates to the Reserve Banks.
Payment for the gold certificates by the Reserve Banks is made by crediting equivalent amounts in dollars into the account established for the U.S. Treasury. The gold certificates held by the Reserve Banks
are required to be backed by the gold of the U.S. Treasury. The U.S. Treasury may reacquire the gold
certificates at any time and the Reserve Banks must deliver them to the U.S. Treasury. At such time,
the U.S. Treasury’s account is charged, and the Reserve Banks’ gold certificate accounts are reduced.
The value of gold for purposes of backing the gold certificates is set by law at $42 2/9 a fine troy ounce.
The Board of Governors allocates the gold certificates among Reserve Banks once a year based on the
average Federal Reserve notes outstanding in each Reserve Bank.
SDR certificates are issued by the International Monetary Fund (“Fund”) to its members in proportion
to each member’s quota in the Fund at the time of issuance. SDR certificates serve as a supplement
to international monetary reserves and may be transferred from one national monetary authority to
another. Under the law providing for United States participation in the SDR system, the Secretary of
the U.S. Treasury is authorized to issue SDR certificates somewhat like gold certificates to the Reserve
Banks. When SDR certificates are issued to the Reserve Banks, equivalent amounts in dollars are credited to the account established for the U.S. Treasury, and the Reserve Banks’ SDR certificate accounts
are increased. The Reserve Banks are required to purchase SDR certificates, at the direction of the U.S.
Treasury, for the purpose of financing SDR acquisitions or for financing exchange stabilization operations. At the time SDR transactions occur, the Board of Governors allocates SDR certificate transactions
among Reserve Banks based upon each Reserve Bank’s Federal Reserve notes outstanding at the end
of the preceding year. There were no SDR transactions in 2007 or 2006.
b. Loans to Depository Institutions

Depository institutions that maintain reservable transaction accounts or nonpersonal time deposits, as
defined in regulations issued by the Board of Governors, have borrowing privileges at the discretion
of the Reserve Bank. Borrowers execute certain lending agreements and deposit sufficient collateral
before credit is extended. The Bank offers three discount window programs to depository institutions:
primary credit, secondary credit, and seasonal credit, each with its own interest rate. Interest is accrued
using the applicable discount rate established at least every fourteen days by the board of directors of
the Reserve Bank, subject to review and determination by the Board of Governors.
In addition, depository institutions that are eligible to borrow under the Reserve Bank’s primary credit
program are also eligible to participate in the temporary term auction facility (“TAF”) program. Under
the TAF program, the Reserve Banks conduct auctions for a fixed amount of funds, with the interest
rate determined by the auction process, subject to a minimum bid rate. All advances under the TAF
must be fully collateralized.
Outstanding loans are evaluated for collectibility, and currently all are considered collectible and fully
collateralized. If loans were ever deemed to be uncollectible, an appropriate reserve would be established.
c. U.S. Government Securities and Investments Denominated in Foreign Currencies

Interest income on U.S. government securities and investments denominated in foreign currencies
comprising the SOMA is accrued on a straight-line basis. Gains and losses resulting from sales of securities are determined by specific issues based on average cost. Foreign-currency-denominated assets are
revalued daily at current foreign currency market exchange rates in order to report these assets in U.S.
dollars. Realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments denominated in foreign currencies are
reported as “Foreign currency gains, net” in the Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.
Activity related to U.S. government securities, including the premiums, discounts, and realized and
unrealized gains and losses, is allocated to each Reserve Bank on a percentage basis derived from an
annual settlement of the interdistrict settlement account that occurs in April of each year. The settlement also equalizes Reserve Bank gold certificate holdings to Federal Reserve notes outstanding in
each District. Activity related to investments denominated in foreign currencies is allocated to each

2007 Annual Report • Financials 43

Reserve Bank based on the ratio of each Reserve Bank’s capital and surplus to aggregate capital and
surplus at the preceding December 31.
d. Securities Purchased Under Agreements to Resell, Securities Sold Under Agreements to Repurchase, and Securities
Lending

The FRBNY may engage in tri-party purchases of securities under agreements to resell (“tri-party agreements”). Tri-party agreements are conducted with two commercial custodial banks that manage the
clearing and settlement of collateral. Collateral is held in excess of the contract amount. Acceptable
collateral under tri-party agreements primarily includes U.S. government securities, pass-through
mortgage securities of the Government National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation, and Federal National Mortgage Association, STRIP securities of the U.S. government, and
“stripped” securities of other government agencies. The tri-party agreements are accounted for as
financing transactions, with the associated interest income accrued over the life of the agreement.
Securities sold under agreements to repurchase are accounted for as financing transactions and the
associated interest expense is recognized over the life of the transaction. These transactions are
reported in the Statements of Condition at their contractual amounts, and the related accrued interest
payable is reported as a component of “Other liabilities.”
U.S. government securities held in the SOMA are lent to U.S. government securities dealers in order
to facilitate the effective functioning of the domestic securities market. Securities-lending transactions
are fully collateralized by other U.S. government securities and the collateral taken is in excess of the
market value of the securities loaned. The FRBNY charges the dealer a fee for borrowing securities, and
the fees are reported as a component of “Other income.”
Activity related to securities sold under agreements to repurchase and securities lending is allocated to
each of the Reserve Banks on a percentage basis derived from an annual settlement of the interdistrict
settlement account. On February 15, 2007, the FRBNY began allocating to the other Reserve Banks the
activity related to securities purchased under agreements to resell.
e. FX Swap Arrangements and Warehousing Agreements

FX swap arrangements are contractual agreements between two parties, the FRBNY and an authorized foreign central bank, whereby the parties agree to exchange their currencies up to a prearranged
maximum amount and for an agreed-upon period of time (up to twelve months), at an agreed-upon
interest rate. These arrangements give the FOMC temporary access to the foreign currencies it may
need to support its international operations and give the authorized foreign central bank temporary
access to dollars. Drawings under the FX swap arrangements can be initiated by either party and must
be agreed to by the other party. The FX swap arrangements are structured so that the party initiating
the transaction bears the exchange rate risk upon maturity. Foreign currencies received pursuant to
these agreements are reported as a component of “Investments denominated in foreign currencies”
in the Statements of Condition.
Warehousing is an arrangement under which the FOMC agrees to exchange, at the request of the U.S.
Treasury, U.S. dollars for foreign currencies held by the U.S. Treasury or ESF over a limited period of
time. The purpose of the warehousing facility is to supplement the U.S. dollar resources of the U.S.
Treasury and ESF for financing purchases of foreign currencies and related international operations.
FX swap arrangements and warehousing agreements are revalued daily at current market exchange
rates. Activity related to these agreements, with the exception of the unrealized gains and losses resulting from the daily revaluation, is allocated to each Reserve Bank based on the ratio of each Reserve
Bank’s capital and surplus to aggregate capital and surplus at the preceding December 31. Unrealized
gains and losses resulting from the daily revaluation are recorded by FRBNY and not allocated to the
other Reserve Banks.
f.		Bank Premises, Equipment, and Software

Bank premises and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from two to
fifty years. Major alterations, renovations, and improvements are capitalized at cost as additions to the
asset accounts and are depreciated over the remaining useful life of the asset or, if appropriate, over
the unique useful life of the alteration, renovation, or improvement. Maintenance, repairs, and minor
replacements are charged to operating expense in the year incurred.

44 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Costs incurred for software during the application development stage, either developed internally or
acquired for internal use, are capitalized based on the cost of direct services and materials associated
with designing, coding, installing, or testing software. Capitalized software costs are amortized on a
straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the software applications, which range from two to
five years. Maintenance costs related to software are charged to expense in the year incurred.
Capitalized assets including software, buildings, leasehold improvements, furniture, and equipment are
impaired when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of assets or asset
groups is not recoverable and significantly exceeds their fair value.
g. Interdistrict Settlement Account

At the close of business each day, each Reserve Bank assembles the payments due to or from other
Reserve Banks. These payments result from transactions between Reserve Banks and transactions that
involve depository institution accounts held by other Reserve Banks, such as Fedwire funds and securities transfers, and check and ACH transactions. The cumulative net amount due to or from the other
Reserve Banks is reflected in the “Interdistrict settlement account” in the Statements of Condition.
h. Federal Reserve Notes

Federal Reserve notes are the circulating currency of the United States. These notes are issued through
the various Federal Reserve agents (the chairman of the board of directors of each Reserve Bank and
their designees) to the Reserve Banks upon deposit with such agents of specified classes of collateral
security, typically U.S. government securities. These notes are identified as issued to a specific Reserve
Bank. The Federal Reserve Act provides that the collateral security tendered by the Reserve Bank to
the Federal Reserve agent must be at least equal to the sum of the notes applied for by such Reserve
Bank.
Assets eligible to be pledged as collateral security include all of the Bank’s assets. The collateral value
is equal to the book value of the collateral tendered, with the exception of securities, for which the collateral value is equal to the par value of the securities tendered. The par value of securities pledged for
securities sold under agreements to repurchase is deducted.
The Board of Governors may, at any time, call upon a Reserve Bank for additional security to adequately collateralize the Federal Reserve notes. To satisfy the obligation to provide sufficient collateral for
outstanding Federal Reserve notes, the Reserve Banks have entered into an agreement that provides
for certain assets of the Reserve Banks to be jointly pledged as collateral for the Federal Reserve notes
issued to all Reserve Banks. In the event that this collateral is insufficient, the Federal Reserve Act provides that Federal Reserve notes become a first and paramount lien on all the assets of the Reserve
Banks. Finally, Federal Reserve notes are obligations of the United States government. At December
31, 2007, all Federal Reserve notes issued to the Reserve Banks were fully collateralized.
“Federal Reserve notes outstanding, net” in the Statements of Condition represents the Bank’s Federal
Reserve notes outstanding, reduced by the Bank’s currency holdings of $24,860 million and $19,391
million at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
i.		 Items in Process of Collection and Deferred Credit Items

Items in process of collection in the Statements of Condition primarily represents amounts attributable
to checks that have been deposited for collection and that, as of the balance sheet date, have not yet
been presented to the paying bank. Deferred credit items are the counterpart liability to items in process of collection, and the amounts in this account arise from deferring credit for deposited items until
the amounts are collected. The balances in both accounts can vary significantly.
j.		 Capital Paid-in

The Federal Reserve Act requires that each member bank subscribe to the capital stock of the Reserve
Bank in an amount equal to 6 percent of the capital and surplus of the member bank. These shares
are nonvoting with a par value of $100 and may not be transferred or hypothecated. As a member
bank’s capital and surplus changes, its holdings of Reserve Bank stock must be adjusted. Currently,
only one-half of the subscription is paid-in and the remainder is subject to call. A member bank is liable
for Reserve Bank liabilities up to twice the par value of stock subscribed by it.
By law, each Reserve Bank is required to pay each member bank an annual dividend of 6 percent on
the paid-in capital stock. This cumulative dividend is paid semiannually. To reflect the Federal Reserve

2007 Annual Report • Financials 45

Act requirement that annual dividends are deducted from net earnings, dividends are presented as a
distribution of comprehensive income in the Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.
k. Surplus

The Board of Governors requires the Reserve Banks to maintain a surplus equal to the amount of capital paid-in as of December 31 of each year. This amount is intended to provide additional capital and
reduce the possibility that the Reserve Banks would be required to call on member banks for additional
capital.
Accumulated other comprehensive income is reported as a component of surplus in the Statements of
Condition and the Statements of Changes in Capital. The balance of accumulated other comprehensive
income is comprised of expenses, gains, and losses related to defined benefit pension plans and other
postretirement benefit plans that, under accounting standards, are included in other comprehensive
income but excluded from net income. Additional information regarding the classifications of accumulated other comprehensive income is provided in Notes 9 and 10.
The Bank initially applied the provisions of SFAS No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit
Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, at December 31, 2006. This accounting standard requires
recognition of the overfunded or underfunded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan in the
Statements of Condition, and recognition of changes in the funded status in the years in which the
changes occur through comprehensive income. The transition rules for implementing the standard
required applying the provisions as of the end of the year of initial implementation, and the effect as
of December 31, 2006, is recorded as “Adjustment to initially apply SFAS No. 158” in the Statements
of Changes in Capital.
l.		 Interest on Federal Reserve Notes

The Board of Governors requires the Reserve Banks to transfer excess earnings to the U.S. Treasury as
interest on Federal Reserve notes, after providing for the costs of operations, payment of dividends,
and reservation of an amount necessary to equate surplus with capital paid-in. This amount is reported
as “Payments to U.S. Treasury as interest on Federal Reserve notes” in the Statements of Income and
Comprehensive Income and is reported as a liability, or as an asset if overpaid during the year, in the
Statements of Condition. Weekly payments to the U.S. Treasury may vary significantly.
In the event of losses or an increase in capital paid-in at a Reserve Bank, payments to the U.S. Treasury
are suspended and earnings are retained until the surplus is equal to the capital paid-in.
In the event of a decrease in capital paid-in, the excess surplus, after equating capital paid-in and surplus at December 31, is distributed to the U.S. Treasury in the following year.
m. Income and Costs Related to U.S. Treasury Services

The Bank is required by the Federal Reserve Act to serve as fiscal agent and depository of the United
States. By statute, the Department of the Treasury is permitted, but not required, to pay for these services. During the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2007, the Bank was reimbursed for all services
provided to the Department of the Treasury.
n. Compensation Received for Services Provided

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (“FRBA”) has overall responsibility for managing the Reserve
Banks’ provision of check and ACH services to depository institutions, and, as a result, recognizes total
System revenue for these services on its Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income. Similarly,
the FRBNY manages the Reserve Banks’ provision of Fedwire funds and securities transfer services and
recognizes total System revenue for these services on its Statements of Income and Comprehensive
Income. The FRBA and FRBNY compensate the other Reserve Banks for the costs incurred to provide
these services. The Bank reports this compensation as “Compensation received for services provided”
in the Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.
o. Assessments by the Board of Governors

The Board of Governors assesses the Reserve Banks to fund its operations based on each Reserve Bank’s
capital and surplus balances as of December 31 of the prior year. The Board of Governors also assesses
each Reserve Bank for the expenses incurred for the U.S. Treasury to prepare and retire Federal Reserve
notes based on each Reserve Bank’s share of the number of notes comprising the System’s net liability
for Federal Reserve notes on December 31 of the prior year.

46 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

p. Taxes

The Reserve Banks are exempt from federal, state, and local taxes, except for taxes on real property.
The Bank’s real property taxes were $4 million and $3 million for the years ended December 31,
2007 and 2006, respectively, and are reported as a component of “Occupancy expense.”
q. Restructuring Charges

The Reserve Banks recognize restructuring charges for exit or disposal costs incurred as part of
the closure of business activities in a particular location, the relocation of business activities from
one location to another, or a fundamental reorganization that affects the nature of operations.
Restructuring charges may include costs associated with employee separations, contract terminations, and asset impairments. Expenses are recognized in the period in which the Bank commits to a
formalized restructuring plan or executes the specific actions contemplated in the plan and all criteria
for financial statement recognition have been met.
Note 11 describes the Bank’s restructuring initiatives and provides information about the costs and
liabilities associated with employee separations and contract terminations. The costs associated with
the impairment of certain of the Bank’s assets are discussed in Note 6. Costs and liabilities associated
with enhanced pension benefits in connection with the restructuring activities for all of the Reserve
Banks are recorded on the books of the FRBNY.
r. Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (“SFAS No. 157”).
SFAS No. 157 establishes a single authoritative definition of fair value, sets out a framework for measuring fair value, and expands on required disclosures about fair value measurement. SFAS No. 157
is generally effective for the Bank on January 1, 2008, though the effective date of some provisions is
January 1, 2009. The provisions of SFAS No. 157 will be applied prospectively and are not expected
to have a material effect on the Bank’s financial statements.
4. U.S. Government securities, securities purchased under agreements to resell,
securities sold under agreements to repurchase, and securities lending
The FRBNY, on behalf of the Reserve Banks, holds securities bought outright in the SOMA. The
Bank’s allocated share of SOMA balances was approximately 4.394 percent and 4.488 percent at
December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
The Bank’s allocated share of U.S. government securities, net, held in the SOMA at December 31,
was as follows (in millions):
2007
Par value:
U.S. government
Bills
$ 10,010
Notes		 17,653
Bonds		 4,877
Total par value
32,540
Unamortized premiums
351
Unaccreted discounts
(131)
Total allocated to the Bank
$ 32,760

2006

$ 12,432
18,058
4,467
34,957
391
(180)
$ 35,168

At December 31, 2007 and 2006, the fair value of the U.S. government securities allocated to the
Bank, excluding accrued interest, was $34,145 million and $35,719 million, respectively, as determined by reference to quoted prices for identical securities.
The total of the U.S. government securities, net, held in the SOMA was $745,629 million and
$783,619 million at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. At December 31, 2007 and 2006,
the fair value of the U.S. government securities held in the SOMA, excluding accrued interest, was
$777,141 million and $795,900 million, respectively, as determined by reference to quoted prices
for identical securities.

2007 Annual Report • Financials 47

Although the fair value of security holdings can be substantially greater or less than the recorded
value at any point in time, these unrealized gains or losses have no effect on the ability of the Reserve
Banks, as central bank, to meet their financial obligations and responsibilities, and should not be
misunderstood as representing a risk to the Reserve Banks, their shareholders, or the public. The fair
value is presented solely for informational purposes.
Financial information related to securities purchased under agreements to resell and securities sold
under agreements to repurchase for the year ended December 31, 2007, was as follows (in millions):
		
Securities Purchased
Under Agreements to Resell
Allocated to the Bank:
Contract amount outstanding, end of year
Weighted average amount outstanding,
during year
Maximum month-end balance outstanding,
during year
Securities pledged, end of year		

$ 2,043

Securities Sold Under
Agreements to Repurchase
$

1,933

1,541

1,531

2,263

1,933
1,935

System total:
Contract amount outstanding, end of year
$ 46,500
Weighted average amount outstanding,
during year
35,073
Maximum month-end balance outstanding,
during year
51,500
Securities pledged, end of year		

$ 43,985
34,846
43,985
44,048

At December 31, 2006, the total contract amount of securities sold under agreements to repurchase
was $29,615 million, of which $1,329 million was allocated to the Bank. The total par value of SOMA
securities that were pledged for securities sold under agreements to repurchase at December 31,
2006, was $29,676 million, of which $1,332 million was allocated to the Bank.
The contract amounts for securities purchased under agreements to resell and securities sold under
agreements to repurchase approximate fair value.
The maturity distribution of U.S. government securities bought outright, securities purchased under
agreements to resell, and securities sold under agreements to repurchase that were allocated to the
Bank at December 31, 2007, was as follows (in millions):
		
	    U.S. Government
	    Securities
   	    (Par value)
Within 15 days
$ 1,199
16 days to 90 days
6,579
91 days to 1 year
6,690
Over 1 year to 5 years
10,569
Over 5 years to 10 years
3,601
Over 10 years
3,902
Total allocated to the Bank
$ 32,540

Securities Purchased
Under Agreements to
Resell
(Contract amount)
$ 2,043
—
—
—
—
—
$ 2,043

Securities Sold Under
Agreements to
Repurchase
(Contract amount)
$ 1,933
—
—
—
—
—
$ 1,933

At December 31, 2007 and 2006, U.S. government securities with par values of $16,649 million
and $6,855 million, respectively, were loaned from the SOMA, of which $732 million and $308
million, respectively, were allocated to the Bank.

48 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

5. Investments Denominated in Foreign Currencies
The FRBNY, on behalf of the Reserve Banks, holds foreign currency deposits with foreign central
banks and with the Bank for International Settlements and invests in foreign government debt
instruments. Foreign government debt instruments held include both securities bought outright and
securities purchased under agreements to resell. These investments are guaranteed as to principal
and interest by the issuing foreign governments.
The Bank’s allocated share of investments denominated in foreign currencies was approximately
1.382 percent and 1.154 percent at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
The Bank’s allocated share of investments denominated in foreign currencies, including accrued
interest, valued at foreign currency market exchange rates at December 31, was as follows (in millions):

2007
European Euro:
Foreign currency deposits
Securities purchased under agreements to resell
Government debt instruments
Japanese Yen:
Foreign currency deposits
Government debt instruments
Swiss Franc:
Foreign currency deposits
Total allocated to the Bank

2006

$ 380
35
64

$

72
25
47

39
79

30
62

56
$ 653

—
$ 236

At December 31, 2007, the total amount of foreign currency deposits held under foreign exchange
contracts was $24,381 million, of which $337 million was allocated to the Bank. At December 31,
2006, there were no open foreign exchange contracts.
At December 31, 2007 and 2006, the fair value of investments denominated in foreign currencies,
including accrued interest, allocated to the Bank was $653 million and $236 million, respectively.
The fair value of government debt instruments was determined by reference to quoted prices for
identical securities. The cost basis of foreign currency deposits and securities purchased under
agreements to resell, adjusted for accrued interest, approximates fair value. Similar to the U.S. government securities discussed in Note 4, unrealized gains or losses have no effect on the ability of a
Reserve Bank, as central bank, to meet its financial obligations and responsibilities.
Total System investments denominated in foreign currencies were $47,295 million and $20,482
million at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. At December 31, 2007 and 2006, the fair
value of the total System investments denominated in foreign currencies, including accrued interest, was $47,274 million and $20,434 million, respectively.
The maturity distribution of investments denominated in foreign currencies that were allocated to
the Bank at December 31, 2007, was as follows (in millions):

Within 15 days
16 days to 90 days
91 days to 1 year
Over 1 year to 5 years
Over 5 years to 10 years
Over 10 years
Total allocated to the Bank

European
Euro
$ 69
319
38
53
—
—
$ 479

Japanese
Yen
$ 41
6
28
43
—
—
$ 118

Swiss
Franc
$
—
56
—
—
—
—
$ 56

Total
$ 110
381
66
96
—
—
$ 653

2007 Annual Report • Financials 49

At December 31, 2007 and 2006, the authorized warehousing facility was $5,000 million, with
no balance outstanding.
6.	Bank Premises, equipment, and Software
Bank premises and equipment at December 31 are as follows (in millions):
2007
Bank premises and equipment:
Land
Buildings
Building machinery and equipment
Construction in progress
Furniture and equipment
Subtotal
Accumulated depreciation
Bank premises and equipment, net
Depreciation expense, for the year ended
December 31

$

2006

61
227
37
—
74
399
(112)
$ 287

$

$

$ 13

14

60
222
36
2
75
395
(101)
$ 294

The Bank leases space to outside tenants with remaining lease terms ranging from one to nine years.
Rental income from such leases was $1 million and $174 thousand for the years ended December
31, 2007 and 2006, respectively, and is reported as a component of “Other income.” Future minimum lease payments that the Bank will receive under noncancelable lease agreements in existence
at December 31, 2007, are as follows (in thousands):
2008
$ 1,594
2009
1,594
2010
1,597
2011
1,600
2012		 1,456
Thereafter		 4,462
Total
$ 12,303

The Bank has capitalized software assets, net of amortization, of $4 million and $6 million at
December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. Amortization expense was $2 million for each of the
years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006. Capitalized software assets are reported as a component
of “Other assets” and the related amortization is reported as a component of “Other expenses.”
7. Commitments and Contingencies
At December 31, 2007, the Bank was obligated under noncancelable leases for premises and equipment with remaining terms ranging from one to approximately three years. These leases provide for
increased rental payments based upon increases in real estate taxes and operating costs.
Rental expense under operating leases for certain operating facilities, warehouses, and data processing and office equipment (including taxes, insurance and maintenance when included in rent), net
of sublease rentals, was $287 thousand and $212 thousand for the years ended December 31, 2007
and 2006, respectively. Certain of the Bank’s leases have options to renew.
Future minimum rental payments under noncancelable operating leases and capital leases, net of
sublease rentals, with terms of one year or more, at December 31, 2007, were not material.
At December 31, 2007, there were no material unrecorded unconditional purchase commitments or
long-term obligations in excess of one year.
Under the Insurance Agreement of the Federal Reserve Banks, each of the Reserve Banks has agreed
to bear, on a per incident basis, a pro rata share of losses in excess of one percent of the capital
paid-in of the claiming Reserve Bank, up to 50 percent of the total capital paid-in of all Reserve

50 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Banks. Losses are borne in the ratio of a Reserve Bank’s capital paid-in to the total capital paid-in of
all Reserve Banks at the beginning of the calendar year in which the loss is shared. No claims were
outstanding under the agreement at December 31, 2007 or 2006.
The Bank is involved in certain legal actions and claims arising in the ordinary course of business.
Although it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome of these actions, in management’s opinion,
based on discussions with counsel, the aforementioned litigation and claims will be resolved without
material adverse effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Bank.
8. Retirement and Thrift Plans
		 Retirement Plans

The Bank currently offers three defined benefit retirement plans to its employees, based on length
of service and level of compensation. Substantially all of the Bank’s employees participate in the
Retirement Plan for Employees of the Federal Reserve System (“System Plan”). Employees at certain compensation levels participate in the Benefit Equalization Retirement Plan (“BEP”) and certain
Reserve Bank officers participate in the Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan (“SERP”).
The System Plan provides retirement benefits to employees of the Federal Reserve Banks, the Board
of Governors, and the Office of Employee Benefits of the Federal Reserve Employee Benefits System.
The FRBNY, on behalf of the System, recognizes the net assets and costs associated with the System
Plan in its financial statements. Costs associated with the System Plan are not redistributed to other
participating employers.
The Bank’s projected benefit obligation, funded status, and net pension expenses for the BEP and the
SERP at December 31, 2007 and 2006, and for the years then ended, were not material.
		 Thrift Plan

Employees of the Bank may also participate in the defined contribution Thrift Plan for Employees of
the Federal Reserve System (“Thrift Plan”). The Bank’s Thrift Plan contributions totaled $4 million for
each of the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively, and are reported as a component of “Salaries and other benefits” in the Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income. The
Bank matches employee contributions based on a specified formula. For the years ended December
31, 2007 and 2006, the Bank matched 80 percent on the first 6 percent of employee contributions
for employees with less than five years of service and 100 percent on the first 6 percent of employee
contributions for employees with five or more years of service.
9. Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions and Postemployment Benefits
		 Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions

In addition to the Bank’s retirement plans, employees who have met certain age and length-of-service
requirements are eligible for both medical benefits and life insurance coverage during retirement.
The Bank funds benefits payable under the medical and life insurance plans as due and, accordingly,
has no plan assets.
Following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the benefit obligation (in millions):
2007
2006
Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at January 1
$ 82.9
$ 67.5
Service cost-benefits earned during the period		
3.3		
2.1
Interest cost on accumulated benefit obligation		
5.0		
4.0
Net actuarial loss (gain)		 (10.6)		 12.1
Contributions by plan participants		
1.2		
1.0
Benefits paid		 (4.2)		 (4.0)
Medicare Part D subsidies
0.2
0.2
Accumulated postretirement
benefit obligation at December 31
$ 77.8
$ 82.9

At December 31, 2007 and 2006, the weighted-average discount rate assumptions used in developing
the postretirement benefit obligation were 6.25 percent and 5.75 percent, respectively.

2007 Annual Report • Financials 51

Discount rates reflect yields available on high-quality corporate bonds that would generate the cash
flows necessary to pay the plan’s benefits when due.
Following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balance of the plan assets, the unfunded
postretirement benefit obligation, and the accrued postretirement benefit costs (in millions):
Fair value of plan assets at January 1
Contributions by the employer
Contributions by plan participants
Benefits paid, net of Medicare Part D subsidies
Fair value of plan assets at December 31

$

2007
—
2.8
1.2
(4.0)
$
—

$

Unfunded obligation and accrued
postretirement benefit cost

$ 77.8

$ 82.9

Amounts included in accumulated other
comprehensive loss are shown below:
Prior service cost
Net actuarial loss
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss

2006
—
2.8
1.0
(3.8)
$
—

$

2.3
(17.0)
$(14.7)

$

2.7
(31.0)
$ (28.3)

Accrued postretirement benefit costs are reported as a component of “Accrued benefit costs” in the
Statements of Condition.
For measurement purposes, the assumed health care cost trend rates at December 31 are as follows:
2007

2006

Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year

8.00%

9.00%

Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline
(the ultimate trend rate)

5.00%

5.00%

Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate

2013

2012

Assumed health care cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for health
care plans. A one percentage point change in assumed health care cost trend rates would have the
following effects for the year ended December 31, 2007 (in millions):
One Percentage One Percentage
Point Increase Point Decrease
Effect on aggregate of service and interest cost components
of net periodic postretirement benefit costs
Effect on accumulated postretirement benefit obligation

$

1.4
10.4

$

(1.2)
(8.6)

The following is a summary of the components of net periodic postretirement benefit expense for
the years ended December 31 (in millions):
Service cost-benefits earned during the period
Interest cost on accumulated benefit obligation
Amortization of prior service cost
Amortization of net actuarial loss
Net periodic postretirement benefit expense
Estimated amounts that will be amortized from
accumulated other comprehensive loss into net
periodic postretirement benefit expense (credit) in
2008 are shown below:
Prior service cost				
Net actuarial loss
Total

2007
3.3
5.0
(0.4)
3.4
$ 11.3
$

$
$

(0.4)
1.3
0.9

2006
2.1
4.0
(0.4)
1.8
$ 7.5
$

52 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

Net postretirement benefit costs are actuarially determined using a January 1 measurement date. At
January 1, 2007 and 2006, the weighted-average discount rate assumptions used to determine net
periodic postretirement benefit costs were 5.75 percent and 5.50 percent, respectively.
Net periodic postretirement benefit expense is reported as a component of “Salaries and other benefits” in the Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.
The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 established a prescription drug benefit under Medicare (“Medicare Part D”) and a federal subsidy to sponsors of retiree
health care benefit plans that provide benefits that are at least actuarially equivalent to Medicare Part
D. The benefits provided under the Bank’s plan to certain participants are at least actuarially equivalent to the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. The estimated effects of the subsidy, retroactive
to January 1, 2004, are reflected in actuarial gain in the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation and net periodic postretirement benefit expense.
There were no receipts of federal Medicare Part D subsidies in the year ended December 31,
2006. Receipts in the year ending December 31, 2007, related to benefits paid in the years ended
December 31, 2006 and 2007, were $0.2 million, respectively. Expected receipts in 2008, related to
benefits paid in the year ended December 31, 2007, are $0.1 million.
Following is a summary of expected postretirement benefit payments (in millions):
Without Subsidy
2008
$
2009		
2010		
2011		
2012		
2013–2017		
Total

With Subsidy

4.0
$ 3.7
4.4		
4.1
4.9		
4.5
5.3		
4.9
5.7		
5.2
33.9		 30.5

$ 58.2

$ 52.9

		 Postemployment Benefits
The Bank offers benefits to former or inactive employees. Postemployment benefit costs are actuarially determined using a December 31 measurement date and include the cost of medical and dental insurance, survivor income, and disability benefits. The accrued postemployment benefit costs
recognized by the Bank were $7 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006.
This cost is included as a component of “Accrued benefit costs” in the Statements of Condition. Net
periodic postemployment benefit expense included in operating expenses were $1 million for each
of the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, and are recorded as a component of “Salaries and
other benefits” in the Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.

2007 Annual Report • Financials 53

10. ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME and other comprehensive income
Following is a reconciliation of beginning and ending balances of accumulated other comprehensive
loss (in millions):
Amount Related to Postretirement
Benefits Other Than Pensions
Balance at January 1, 2006
Adjustment to initially apply
SFAS Statement No. 158
Balance at December 31, 2006
Change in funded status of benefit plans:
Net actuarial gain arising during the year
Amortization of prior service cost
Amortization of net actuarial loss
Change in funded status of benefit
plans–other comprehensive income
Balance at December 31, 2007

$

—

$

(28)
(28)

11
(1)
3

$

13
(15)

Additional detail regarding the classification of accumulated other comprehensive loss is included in
Note 9.
11. BUSINESS Restructuring Charges
		 2006 Restructuring Plans
In 2006, the Bank announced plans for restructuring to streamline its Houston operations and reduce
costs. There were no costs in 2007 incurred by the Bank for restructuring plans.
Following is a summary of financial information related to the restructuring plans (in millions):
2006
Restructuring Plans
Information related to restructuring
plans as of December 31, 2007:
Total expected costs related to
restructuring activity
Expected completion date
Reconciliation of liability balances:
Balance at January 1, 2006
Total charges
Balance at December 31, 2006
Adjustments
Payments
Balance at December 31, 2007

$

1.0
2008

$

–
1.0
1.0
(0.3)
(0.5)
0.2

$

$

Employee separation costs are primarily severance costs for identified staff reductions of approximately 17 associated with the announced restructuring plans in 2006. Separation costs that are provided under terms of ongoing benefit arrangements are recorded based on the accumulated benefit
earned by the employee. Separation costs that are provided under the terms of one-time benefit
arrangements are generally measured based on the expected benefit as of the termination date and
recorded ratably over the period to termination. Restructuring costs related to employee separations

54 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas • 2007 Annual Report

for the year ended December 31, 2006, are reported as a component of “Salaries and other benefits”
in the Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.
Adjustments to the accrued liability are primarily due to changes in the estimated restructuring costs
and are shown as a component of the appropriate expense category in the Statements of Income
and Comprehensive Income.
Costs associated with enhanced pension benefits for all Reserve Banks are recorded on the books of
the FRBNY as discussed in Note 8.
12. Subsequent Events
In March 2008, the Board of Governors announced several initiatives to address liquidity pressures
in funding markets and promote financial stability, including increasing the term auction facility (see
Note 3b) to $100 billion and initiating a series of term repurchase transactions (see Notes 3d and 4)
that may cumulate to $100 billion. In addition, the Reserve Banks’ securities lending program (see
Notes 3d and 4) was expanded to lend up to $200 billion of Treasury securities to primary dealers for
a term of 28 days, secured by federal agency debt, federal agency residential mortgage-backed securities, agency collateralized mortgage obligations, non-agency AAA/Aaa-rated private-label residential
mortgage-backed securities, and AAA/Aaa-rated commercial mortgage-backed securities. The FOMC
also authorized increases in its existing temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (see Notes 3e
and 5) with specific foreign central banks. These initiatives will affect 2008 activity related to loans to
depository institutions, securities purchased under agreements to resell, U.S. government securities,
net, and investments denominated in foreign currencies, as well as income and expenses. The effects
of the initiatives do not require adjustment to the amounts recorded as of December 31, 2007.

The firm engaged by the Board of Governors for the audits of the individual and combined financial
statements of the Reserve Banks for 2007 was Deloitte & Touche LLP (D&T). Fees for these services
totaled $4.7 million. To ensure auditor independence, the Board of Governors requires that D&T be
independent in all matters relating to the audit. Specifically, D&T may not perform services for the
Reserve Banks or others that would place it in a position of auditing its own work, making management decisions on behalf of the Reserve Banks, or in any other way impairing its audit independence. In 2007, the Bank did not engage D&T for any material advisory services.

2007 Annual Report • Financials 55

Volume of Operations
(unaudited)
Number of Items Handled
(Thousands)
		

2007

Dollar Amount
(Millions)

2006

2007

2006

SERVICES TO DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS
cash services
Federal Reserve notes processed

3,041,050

2,970,987

55,830

53,050

Currency received from circulation

3,199,798

3,074,837

55,936

53,304

723,432

738,927

105

81

Commercial–processed

738,826

942,688

902,479

1,052,639

Commercial–fine sorted

4,556

9,563

4,802

8,206

203,037

108,614

360,212

268,258

1,654

259

Coin received from circulation

check processing

Check 21 forward substitute check–
processed
loans
Advances made

*Individual loans, not in thousands.

80*

79*

About the Dallas Fed
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is
one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks in
the United States. Together with the Board of
Governors in Washington, D.C., these organizations form the Federal Reserve System
and function as the nation’s central bank. The
System’s basic purpose is to provide a flow of

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
2200 North Pearl Street
Dallas, TX 75201
214-922-6000

El Paso Branch
301 East Main Street
El Paso, TX 79901
915-521-5200

money and credit that will foster orderly economic growth and a stable dollar. In addition,
Federal Reserve Banks supervise banks and
bank holding companies and provide certain
financial services to the banking industry, the
federal government and the public.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has
served the financial institutions in the Eleventh District since 1914. The district encompasses 350,000 square miles and comprises
the state of Texas, northern Louisiana and
southern New Mexico. The three branch
offices of the Dallas Fed are in El Paso, Houston and San Antonio.

Gloria V. Brown
Vice President, Public Affairs
Carol Dirks
Publications Director
Monica Reeves
Editor
Jennifer Afflerbach
Associate Editor
Gene Autry
Art Director and Photographer
Ellah Piña
Chart Production

Houston Branch
1801 Allen Parkway
Houston, TX 77019
713-483-3000

San Antonio Branch
126 East Nueva Street
San Antonio, TX 78204
210-978-1200

Website
www.dallasfed.org

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
P.O. Box 655906
Dallas, TX 75265-5906

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DALLAS, TEXAS
PERMIT NO. 151