Full text of By-Laws of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Mo.

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B Y -L A W S

OF

The Federal
Reserve Bank
OF

Saint Louis, Mo.

N O V E M B E R ,

1914

B Y - L A W S
— OF —

The Federal Reserve Bank
- OF -

S a in t L o u i s , M o .

A R T IC L E I.— D IR E C T O R S .
Section 1. Quorum .— A m a jo rity of the D i­
re c to rs shall c o nstitu te a q u o ru m for the t r a n s ­
action of business, b ut less th a n a q u o ru m m a y
a d jo u r n fr o m time to tim e until a q u o ru m is in
attend ance.
Sec. 2. V acancies.— As soon as p racticable
after the o ccu rrence of an y vaca n c y in the
m e m b e rsh ip of the B o a r d , th e C h airm a n of the
B o ard shall take such steps as m a y be n ecess ary
to cause such v acan cy t o be filled in th e m a n n e r
p rovided by law.
Sec. 3. M eetings.— T h e r e shall be a re g u la r
m eetin g of the B o a rd on the first an d th ird
W e d n e s d a y s of each m onth, a t 10:00 o ’clock
M., or, if th a t day be a holiday, on the second
succeeding full b usiness day. T h e C h airm an of
the B o a rd m a y call a special m ee tin g a t an y
time, and shall do so u p on the w ritte n re q u e s t

of an y th r e e D ire c to rs or of th e G o vern u
N otice of re g u la r an d special m e etin g s m a y be
given by mail or by teleg rap h. If given by
mail, such notice shall be mailed at least five
days before the date of th e m eeting. If given
by teleg raph , such notice shall be dispatched at
least tw o days before the date of the m eeting.
N o tice of any m ee tin g m a y be d ispensed w ith if
each of the D ire c to rs shall in w ritin g waive
such notice.
Sec. 4. P ow ers.—T h e b usiness of this b an k
shall be conducted u n d er the sup erv isio n an d
c o n tro l of its B o ard of D irectors, su b ject to the
supervision vested by law in the F e d e ra l R e ­
serve Board. T h e B o a rd of D ire c to rs shall
app oin t th e officers an d fix th eir com p ensation .
T h e B o ard m a y ap po int legal counsel for the
bank, define his duties, a n d fix his co m p e n s a ­
tion.
Sec. S. Special C om m ittees.— Special b u si­
ness of the b an k m ay be re ferred fro m time to
tim e to special com m ittees, w hich shall exercise
such p o w ers as th e B o ard m a y delega te to
them.
Sec. 6. Order of B usiness.—T h e B o a rd m ay
f ro m tim e to tim e m ak e such re g u latio n s as to
o rd er of business as m a y seem to it desirable.
A R T IC L E II .
Section 1. H ow C onstituted.— T h e r e shall
be an executive co m m ittee c o nsistin g of t
G overnor, the F e d e ra l R eserve A gen t, an d
th r e e D ire c to rs ch osen fr o m Classes A or B;
th e m e m b e r or m e m b ers of the com m itte e
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jiosen by the B o a rd shall serve d u rin g th e
pleasure of the Board, or for te r m s fixed by it.
T h e G o v e rn o r shall have a u th o r ity to invite any
o th e r m e m b e rs of the B o ard of D irecto rs to sit
w ith the executive co m m ittee at an y re g u la r or
special m eeting, such m e m b e r or m e m b e rs to
have full rig h ts of m em b ersh ip d u rin g such
m e e tin g or m eetings.
N o t less th a n th ree
m e m b e rs of the co m m ittee shall c o n stitu te a
q u o ru m for the tra n sa c tio n of business, an d
action by the c o m m ittee shall be u po n the v ote
of a m a jo rity of th o se p r e s e n t at a n y m eetin g
of the com m ittee.
T h e c o m m itte e shall have p o w er to fix the
time and place of h o ld in g re g u la r or special
m eetings, an d the m e t h o d of giv ing notice
thereof.
M inutes of all m e etin g s of the executive c o m ­
m ittee shall be kep t by the S ecretary, an d such
minutes, or digests thereof, shall be s u b m itte d
to the m e m b e rs of the B o ard of D ire c to rs at its
ne x t succeed ing m eeting. Such m in ute s shall
be read to the m e e tin g if req uired by an y m e m ­
b er of the Board.
Sec. 2. P o w ers.— S ub ject to the supervision
and con tro l of the B o a rd of D irec tors, as set
fo rth in A rticle I, Section 4 , th e executive c o m ­
m ittee shall have the fo llow ing p o w ers:
(a) T o pass u po n all com m ercial pa p e r su b ­
m itte d for discount.

(/d) T o initiate and conduct open-m arket
transactions.
4e) T o re c o m m e n d to the B o a rd of D ire c to rs
3

(c) To f ix the discount ratei*^
and change eem© from
ti:ae to time* subject to
review and determ ination
by the fed era l Reserve
Board*
Board, be n ecess ary for the g en eral re ­
q uirem e nts of the bank.
(f) T o em ploy or to d eleg ate to officers of
th e b an k a u th o r ity to em p lo y clerks and
o th e r su bo rd inates, an d to define their
duties and to fix th eir com pensation.
(g ) T o a pp ro ve b on ds furn ish ed by th e offi­
cers and em ployees o f the bank, an d to
pro vide for the ir custody.
(h) In general, to c on du ct the b usiness of the
bank, sub ject to th e supervision and co n­
tr ol of the B o ard of D ire cto rs.
A R T IC L E II I.— O F F IC E R S .
Section 1. T h e B o ard of D ire c to rs shall a p ­
po int a G overnor, a D e p u ty G overnor, a Sec­
re t a r y and a Cashier, and shall have p o w e r to
a p p o in t such o th e r officers as th e B o ard m ay
fro m time to time d eterm in e to be n ecessary
and a p p ro p ria te for th e co nd uct of the business
of the bank. T h e offices of D e p u ty G overnor,
S ecretary, an d Cashier, or an y tw o of them ,
m a y be held by one person, in the d iscretion of
th e B oard. T h e officers c ho se n by the Boai
shall hold office d u rin g th e p leasu re of th e
Board.
Sec. 2. Federal R eserve A gen t.— T h e F ed 4

.1 R eserve A gent, as ch airm an of the B oard,
oxiall preside at m eetin gs thereof. Copies of all
re p o r ts and s ta te m e n ts m ade to the F e d e ra l
R eserv e B o a rd shall be filed w ith the F e d e ra l
R eserv e A gent.

Sec. 3. D eputy Federal R eserve A gen t.— In
the absence or disability of the F e d e ra l R e ­
serve A g e n t his p o w ers shall be exercised and
his duties p e rf o rm e d by th e D e p u ty F e d e ra l
R eserv e A gen t, w ho m ay p e rfo rm such o th e r
services as shall be p re scrib ed by the B o ard of
D ire c to rs n o t in co n s isten t w ith his duties as
pro vided by law.
Sec. 4. T he Governor.— Subject to the s u ­
pervision a n d con tro l of the B o ard of D irectors,
th e G o v e rn o r shall have g eneral c harg e and
co n tro l of the business an d affairs of the bank,
and he shall be the c h airm a n of th e executive
com m ittee. H e shall hav e p o w er to m ak e any
and all tra n sfe rs of securities or o th e r p r o p e r ty
of the b an k w hich m a y be au th o riz ed to be sold
or tr a n s fe r re d by th e executive co m m itte e or
by the Board. T h e g o v e rn o r shall have p o w e r
to pre scrib e the duties of all su bo rd in ate officers
and ag e n ts of the b an k w h e re such duties are
n o t specifically p rescribe d by law or by the
B o a rd of D irecto rs or by th e by-laws. T h e
G o v e rn o r m a y susp end or rem o ve an y emloyee of the bank.
Sec. 5. T he D eputy Governor.— I n case of
^ ence or disability of the G o v e rn o r his
^u-vvers shall be exercised an d his duties dis­
c h a rg e d by th e D e p u ty G overnor, an d in case
of the absen ce or disability of the D e p u ty Gov5

e rn o r the B o a rd shall a p p o in t one of the o t n t
D ire c to rs G o v ern o r p ro tem. T h e duties of the
D e p u ty G o v e rn o r shall oth erw ise be such as
m a y be pre scribed by the B o ard of D ire c to rs or
by the G overn or. I n case the B o a rd shall deem
th a t the business of the b an k requ ires the a p ­
p o in t m e n t of one or m o re a ss ista n t D e p u ty
G ov ern ors, it shall have a u th o r ity to ap p o in t
such a ss ista n t D ep u ty G o v e rn o r or G overnors,
and shall p re scrib e an d define his o r th eir
duties.
Sec. 6. The Secretary.— T h e S e c re ta ry shall
keep th e m inu tes of all m ee tin g s of the B o ard
an d of all c o m m ittees thereof. H e shall have
cu stod y of the seal of the bank, w ith p o w e r to
affix sam e to certificates of sto ck of the bank,
and by a u th o r ity of the B o a rd or the executive
c o m m itte e , to such o th e r in s tru m e n ts as m a y
fro m tim e to tim e be required. T h e B o a rd of
D ire c to rs may, in th e absence or disability of
the S ecretary, or u p on o th e r occasion w h ere in
th e d iscretion of the B o ard g re a t e r convenience
can be attained, ap p o in t a S e c re ta ry p ro tem. or
em p o w e r one or m o re officers to affix the seal
of the b an k to certificates of sto ck or o th e r
in s tru m en ts . T h e S e c re ta ry shall p e rf o rm such
o th e r duties as m a y fro m time to time be p r e ­
scribed by the B o ard of D irectors, th e executive
co m m ittee, or the G overnor.
Sec. 7. T he Cashier.— T h e C a s h ie r an d at
least one oTfi^»affi^er d€|igfi«ttfd^by the Bo
of Directors,shstJJ^b^vl^m««4o4nt c u stod y or ali
m o n e y ^ j a ^ s t m e n t s and s e c u r i u e t =&fc4be_bank,
=8sSf§ct to such rules as th e B o ard m a y acfSpt
6

I
The Cashier and at least
one other officer designated by
the Board of Directors shall have
joint custody of the inactive re­
serve of the bank p~nd bonds pur­
chased by the bank for invest­
ment* All other moneys and in­
vest scents shall be In the custody
of the Cashier. He shall perform
such other duties as may be
assigned to him from time to time
by the Txecutive Co suittee, the
Board of Directors or the Ooveraor.
In the event of the absence or in­
ability of the Cashier to act* then
the Governor^ or the Txecutive
Committee shall have power to appdinsome officer to act in his stead*
I
days or days or p a rts of days establish ed as
legal holidays.
T h e b a n k shall be open for bu siness fro m
10:00 o ’clock A. M. to 12:00 o ’clock n o o n on
S aturdays.
A R T IC L E V I.—A M E N D M E N T S .
T h e s e B y -L aw s m a > be a m e n d e d at a n y r e g ­
ular m ee tin g of the B oa rd by a m a jo rity v o te
>e entire B o a rd : Prov ided , how ever, th a t a
copy of such a m e n d m e n t shall have been mailed
to each m e m b e r at least ten days p rio r to such
m eeting.
7