The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM The First 100 Years A C H A P T E R I N T H E H I S TO RY O F C E N T R A L B A N K I N G FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM The First 100 Years A Chapter in the History of Central Banking n 1913, Albert Einstein was working on his I established the second Bank of the United States. It new theory of gravity, Richard Nixon was was also given a 20-year charter and operated from born, and Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn 1816 to 1836; however, its charter was not renewed in as assistant secretary of the Navy. It was either. After the charter expired, the United States also the year Woodrow Wilson took the oath endured a series of financial crises during the 19th of office as the 28th President of the United and early 20th centuries. Several factors contributed States, intent on advocating progressive reform to the crises, including a number of bank failures, and change. One of his biggest reforms occurred which generated waves of bank panics and on December 23, 1913, when he signed the Federal economic instability.2 Reserve Act into law. This landmark legislation When Jay Cooke and Company, the nation’s created the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s largest bank, failed in 1873, a panic erupted, leading central bank. to runs on other financial institutions. Within months, 1 A Need for Stability the nation’s economic problems deepened as silver prices dropped after the Coinage Act of 1873 was Why was a central bank needed? The nation passed, which dampened the interests of U.S. silver had tried twice before to establish a central bank miners and led to a recession that lasted until 1879. modeled after European central banks to act as a Although the boom in railroad construction fiscal agent for the government. The first Bank of succeeded in uniting the country from coast to coast the United States was established by Congress in during the post-Civil War years, the boom eventually 1791, at the request of Alexander Hamilton, the came to the end of the line. As the last spike was nation’s first secretary of the Treasury. Although pounded into western soil, the demise of railroad the first Bank’s 20-year charter was not renewed, the construction led to financial difficulties for not only War of 1812 and the ensuing inflation and economic the railroads but the iron and steel industries as well. turmoil convinced Congress to try again, and it The resulting recession from 1882 to 1885 generated Federal Reserve System 1 more bank panics, railroad failures, a withdrawal of Representative Nelson Aldrich (R-Rhode Island) as European investments, a stock market crash, and a chair. But Aldrich’s plan was criticized for giving run on the U.S. gold supply. too much power to bankers and too little control When the Knickerbocker Trust Company in to the government. Although his plan was never New York City failed in 1907, it unleashed countless implemented, it sparked a debate advocating a new runs on other trust companies.3 In response, central bank for the United States — the Federal Congress passed the Aldrich-Vreeland Act in 1908, Reserve System.4 which issued emergency currency and established an 18-member National Monetary Commission to find ways to stabilize the nation’s monetary Several plans were introduced in Congress, system. The commission released 30 reports, one of including proposals by Henry Parker Willis, the which was submitted to Congress four years later. expert adviser from the House Committee on It described U.S. currency as “inelastic,” meaning Banking and Finance and a professor at Washington that the quantity of money being supplied could and Lee University; Senator Robert L. Owen not adjust quickly to changes in demand. The (D-Oklahoma); and Representative Carter Glass report also pointed out that the United States had (D-Virginia). Glass proposed a plan similar to no effective national agency to help transfer funds Aldrich’s in that he wanted little governmental between different parts of the country or to help control, but the big difference was that Glass prevent disruptions in such transfers during times of advocated a system of regional reserve banks. The proposal unleashed heated debates about economic turmoil. To address the inadequacies outlined in how much power bankers and government should its report, the commission proposed a plan to wield. President Wilson also believed in a more create the National Reserve Association with balanced solution: The plan needed some agency Woodrow Wilson enters the White House as the 28th President of the United States. The Federal Reserve Act is passed by Congress and signed later the same day by President Woodrow Wilson. 1913 1913 2 Getting Started Federal Reserve System The 12 Federal Reserve Banks open for business; Charles Hamlin becomes the first Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1916. 1914 The average U.S. inflation rate is 1%. World War I creates difficult economic conditions, but the Federal Reserve System takes an active role in marketing war debt to banks and the general public to raise funds for the war effort. 1914 1914-18 PANIC AND CRISES The Knickerbocker Trust Company, the second largest of its kind in New York, failed in October 1907, which led to runs on other trust companies. Knickerbocker did not have enough cash on hand to meet depositors’ demand for withdrawals. Since there was no deposit insurance in 1907 and no lender of last resort to turn to, the run triggered a panic that launched hundreds of bank failures, a significant decrease in the money supply, and a deep recession. Financier J.P. Morgan formed a syndicate with his fellow bankers to put sufficient liquidity into the economy to quell the panic. Congress then set up a federal commission to study the economy, which led to the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913. But before the Federal Reserve System was established, the United States faced another crisis in July 1914. European investors, who owned more than 20 percent of American railroad stocks, started to sell these assets to secure a flow of gold to Europe to help pay for World War I. This selloff put a serious drain on the U.S. gold supply, weakening the gold-backed dollar and making it hard for the U.S. to maintain the gold standard. Although Treasury Secretary William McAdoo tried to push for the Federal Reserve Banks to open early, his attempt was thwarted. So he moved to close Wall Street to curb British sales of American securities. The stock market closed on July 31, 1914, and reopened on December 12. oversight; he favored a central board. To supervise intermittently. After many refinements, the bill the banking industry, a Federal Reserve Board sponsored by Glass finally won approval from both would have presidential-appointed members; to give the House and the Senate on December 23, 1913, bankers a voice, Wilson’s Federal Advisory Council and President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill into proposed that the regional reserve banks would law that day, creating the Federal Reserve System.5 elect 12 bankers who would meet with the Board The preamble of the legislation outlined two critical William Harding becomes the second Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1922. The average U.S. inflation rate soars to 17.4%. Warren Harding enters the White House as the 29th President of the United States. The average U.S. inflation rate falls to negative double digits at -10.5%, signaling a period of deflation. Calvin Coolidge is sworn in as the 30th President of the United States. Daniel Crissinger becomes the third Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1927. 1916 1917 1921 1921 1923 1923 Federal Reserve System 3 functions for the Federal Reserve: to furnish an and reliable communications and transportation elastic currency and to establish more effective network, the financial health of the banks in that supervision of the nation’s banking industry. location, and the probability that a Reserve Bank The Federal Reserve Act, in part, directed the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Comptroller of the Currency at that site could meet the business demands of the region.8 The Federal Reserve Act also created a Federal to form the Reserve Bank Organization Committee Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., designed to and divide the nation into no fewer than eight and oversee the operations of the 12 Reserve Banks. no more than 12 Federal Reserve Districts. The Originally, the Board consisted of seven members, committee was also charged with deciding which including the Secretary of the Treasury and the cities would hold a Federal Reserve Bank, how the Comptroller of the Currency, both of whom served geographic boundaries of each Federal Reserve ex officio, and five members who were appointed by District would be defined, and how the organization the President of the United States and confirmed by of the Reserve Banks would be supervised. the Senate.9 6 Between January and mid-February 1914, the On November 16, 1914, nearly one year after committee held meetings in 18 U.S. cities. At each of President Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act, all these meetings, local businessmen, bankers, farmers, 12 regional Reserve Banks opened for business. Each and others explained why their city or state was Reserve Bank was required to have a nine-member the best spot for a Reserve Bank. The committee board of directors divided into Class A, Class B, and submitted its final report to Congress in April 1914, Class C directors. Federal Reserve member banks listing the cities it had selected. The committee were responsible for electing three Class A directors considered several factors in choosing these to represent the banking industry and three Class locations, including the availability of an efficient B directors to represent the public. The Federal 7 Roy Young becomes the fourth Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1930. The McFadden Act is passed and creates significant changes for the Fed. Herbert Hoover enters the White House as the 31st President of the United States. The Black Tuesday Wall Street Crash sends the world into an economic panic. The Great Depression: U.S. unemployment reaches 25%, international trade drops more than 50%, thousands of banks and other businesses fail, and tax revenue to the federal government drops dramatically. 1927 1927 1929 1929 1929-39 4 Federal Reserve System Reserve Board (now called the Board of Governors) was charged with appointing three Class C directors to represent the public, including a chairman and deputy chairman for each Reserve Bank’s board of directors.10 As with the First and Second Banks, the Federal Reserve Banks were given 20-year charters. However, people saw positive changes in the nation’s MAP OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK LOCATIONS The Federal Reserve Board (later called the Board of Governors) originally had no authority to force Reserve Banks to open branches. However, the Board sponsored an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act that took effect on June 21, 1917, stating that the “Federal Reserve Board may permit or require any Federal Reserve Bank to establish branch banks within the Federal Reserve district in which it is located.” Today, the 12 Districts have 24 branch offices: Atlanta (Birmingham, AL; Jacksonsville, FL; Miami; Nashville, TN; New Orleans), Chicago (Detroit), Cleveland (Cincinnati; Pittsburgh), Dallas; (El Paso, TX; Houston; San Antonio), Kansas City (Denver; Oklahoma City; Omaha, NE), Minneapolis (Helena, MT), Richmond (Baltimore; Charlotte, NC), San Francisco (Los Angeles; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City; Seattle), and St. Louis (Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; Memphis, TN). economy within the first 14 years after the Federal Reserve was created: The economy was rebounding, interest rates were stable, financial institutions were stronger, recessions had been short-lived, recoveries were swift, and gold reserves were on the upswing. Since politicians, businessmen, and bankers advocated an extension of the Eugene Meyer becomes the fifth Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1933. The Grain Stabilization Corporation and the Cotton Stabilization Corporation are created to keep farm prices steady. The country enters a period of deflation as the price level falls by nearly -10% during the Great Depression. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act is enacted to provide loans to banks, financial institutions, and railroads. Franklin D. Roosevelt enters the White House as the 32nd President of the United States. 1930 1930 1931-32 1932 1933 Federal Reserve System 5 Fed’s original charter, the McFadden Act of 1927 wealthier households were prospering from what officially removed the 20-year limit on the Reserve seemed to be a welcomed economic boom. Many Banks’ charter. In effect, this provision prevented believed that the economic problems of the past 75 the central bank from getting embroiled in a years had finally come to an end, but not everyone political battle over the issue of renewing its charter, shared in this economic prosperity.12 During the a fight that had ended badly for both previous 1920s, grain and cotton prices plummeted, causing central banks. many farmers to default on their mortgages. In 11 reaction, the banks holding the mortgages on these The Early Years troubled farms started to fail, and the number of In the late 1910s and early 1920s, several Federal Reserve Banks began opening Branch offices in their its accommodative monetary policy throughout respective Districts. The board of directors at each 1927, maintaining its policy to increase the money Branch was responsible for supplying information supply to make credit easier to obtain. Then in 1928, on the District’s local economic conditions to the the Fed made a move and started to raise interest Reserve Bank’s board of directors. These Branches rates. This policy change proved to be too little too were also designed to help the Fed handle functions late and further aggravated the economic situation related to payment systems, including clearing by slowing down an already wavering economy.14 checks and distributing cash. By 1929, the troubled economy took a turn for the Economic prosperity and a rising stock market worse: The stock market crashed, deepening the were two hallmarks of the Roaring Twenties, crisis and causing economic repercussions that were despite the decade’s three short-lived recessions. felt worldwide. People started to invest in the stock market; some even invested their life savings. Middle-class and Congress passes the Emergency Banking Act to supply emergency money to banks that reopened after a four-day bank closure nationwide. The Banking Act of 1933, or the Glass-Steagall Act, stems deflation and separates the activities of commercial banks and securities firms. 1933 1933 6 defaults continued to accelerate.13 The Fed continued Federal Reserve System By 1930, the United States was embroiled in the Great Depression, a profound financial crisis that The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) emerged as an important provision of the Banking Act of 1933 to insure bank deposits via funds collected from banks. Eugene Black becomes the sixth Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1934. The Securities Act is passed, ensuring that investors receive financial information on securities offered for public sale and protection against fraud in security sales. 1933 1933 1933 Inside the Board of Governors The Board has a wide range of responsibilities and duties: It oversees the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, sets depository reserve requirements and approves requests for discount rate changes made by the Fed Banks, issues regulations on consumer protection and financial safety and soundness, and leads the Fed in supervising and regulating bank holding companies, as well as the domestic and foreign operations of financial holding companies and state-chartered banks that are members of the Fed System. The Board’s seven Governors, who represent the public sector, are appointed by the President of the United States; the Senate confirms the appointments. The President also appoints the Chair and the Vice Chair, who are confirmed by the Senate to serve four-year terms. The Governors serve 14-year terms to insulate them from short-term political pressures and to provide a long-term perspective on the economy and financial system. The Security Exchange Act of 1934 is passed, creating the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect investors, regulate markets, and expedite capital formation. 1934 The Gold Reserve Act passes, requiring all gold and gold certificates held by the Federal Reserve to be surrendered to and vested in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Marriner Eccles becomes the seventh Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1948. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act to protect senior citizens. The Banking Act of 1935 makes the FDIC a permanent government agency and calls for changes in the Federal Reserve’s structure, including voting rights for the Federal Reserve Board. 1934 1934 1935 1935 Federal Reserve System 7 lingered for a decade. Just months THE GREAT DEPRESSION before the stock market crashed Americans braced themselves for hard times beginning in 1929. But little did on October 29, 1929, better known they know, those hard times would last for more than a decade. By 1933, as Black Tuesday, Herbert Hoover more than 11 million people (25 percent) were unemployed in the U.S. had started his term as the 31st Government-sponsored programs put many to work, eventually generating President of the United States. One of his first attempts to stimulate the economy was by urging Congress to pass the Reconstruction Finance such national landmarks as the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke acknowledged the role the Federal Reserve played in what he called “the worst economic disaster in American history.” Fed leaders during the Depression had disagreed on the Corporation (RFC) Act of 1932. best course of action, and many The RFC was designed to provide of their ideas were deemed too loans to banks and other financial little too late. But these failings institutions in need, including helped Congress initiate numer- insurance companies, as well as to lend funds to railroads, many of which could not meet their bond ous reforms, making the Federal Reserve more responsive to changing economic conditions. payments.15 Hoover also set up a series of other programs to help the troubled economy, including plans to help farmers prevent foreclosure, reforms Stabilization Corporation in 1930 in an effort to keep for the banking industry, and other measures. agricultural prices steady.16 The Hoover administration also established the Grain Stabilization Corporation and the Cotton World War II spreads throughout Europe, North Africa, and the South Pacific. The average U.S. inflation rate climbs to 10.9%. Although many economic factors contributed to the Great Depression, the collapse of the banking Harry S. Truman enters the White House as the 33rd President of the United States. Congress passes the Employment Act of 1946 that created the Council of Economic Advisers, a board that counsels the President on economic policy. The average U.S. inflation rate hits 14.4%. 1939-45 1942 1945 1946 1947 8 Federal Reserve System system was one of the biggest. By the early 1930s, was time for a change. Hoover lost the presidential 9,000 banks failed in the United States. These bank election in November 1932, and Franklin D. failures caused the money supply to tighten, which, Roosevelt was elected to the White House. in turn, spurred a decline in spending on goods and One of the first measures Roosevelt took in services. As spending dropped, firms lowered prices March 1933 was to declare a “bank holiday.” He and laid off workers. And the downward spiral closed all banks nationwide for four business days, continued: Workers’ incomes declined, households from Monday, March 6, until Thursday, March 9. He were pressed to repay loans, and many defaulted. then extended the suspension of banking activity As a result, the number of bankruptcies increased dramatically.17 Trust in banks vanished. People were scared; many withdrew their savings and hoarded as much cash as they could to avoid losing their savings Raising the Bar in one of the many failing financial institutions. The Federal Reserve System doesn’t own any gold; it turned over its The cycle continued: As people started to hoard gold to the Department of the Treasury with the passage of the Gold currency, bank reserves plunged, and the dwindling Reserve Act of 1934. In return, the Secretary of the Treasury issued reserves triggered tighter credit. Banks had less gold certificates to the Fed for the amount of gold that was trans- money to lend, and the limitations on credit further ferred at the statutory price for gold at the time. However, the Federal reduced the money supply. Reserve Bank of New York acts as a custodian for the gold of Many people felt that Hoover didn’t roll out enough measures or implement them fast enough to slow the rising tide of bank failures and account holders, including the U.S. government, foreign governments, other central banks, and official global organizations. unemployment. Consequently, voters decided it Thomas B. McCabe becomes the eighth Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1951. The United States is embroiled in the Korean War. The Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord declares the Fed’s independence in conducting monetary policy. 1948 1950-53 1951 William M. Martin becomes the ninth Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1970. The average U.S. inflation rate is 1.9%. 1951 1952 Federal Reserve System 9 to Monday, March 13. When Congress passed the permanently closed their doors, and people lost Emergency Banking Act on March 9, the goal was to their savings since there was no deposit insurance. stave off the run on banks in hopes that people would Fewer banks and fewer loans meant less available stop panicking. The Federal Reserve also agreed to credit. So, business activity dropped, inventories supply an unlimited amount of emergency money to accumulated on shelves and in warehouses, and those banks that reopened after the bank holiday.18 unemployment escalated.20 These measures succeeded in restoring the Congress passed many important pieces of public’s confidence in banks. By the end of March legislation related to the economic health of the 1933, two-thirds of the money that had been country in the 1930s in response to the Great withdrawn during the various bank runs and panics Depression, including the Banking Act of 1933 and had been redeposited in the nation’s banks, and the the Banking Act of 1935. The Banking Act of 1933 stock market rebounded with the largest uptick in created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation one day of 15.34 percent. (FDIC) as a temporary government agency with the 19 Despite its efforts to work with the Hoover and authority to provide deposit insurance to banks, Roosevelt administrations, the Fed was criticized for originally insuring bank deposits up to $2,500. This not responding aggressively to the Depression. In act, known as the Glass-Steagall Act, also separated fact, many critics contend that the Fed contributed investment banking activities from commercial to the economic downturn by acting too slowly in banking. For the Federal Reserve, this law also easing monetary policy. Because the Fed continued gave the Federal Reserve Board the responsibility its tight monetary policy for too long, prices started for supervising bank holding companies, as well to fall, ushering in widespread deflation. as creating the Federal Open Market Committee The Fed also failed to protect the stability of the nation’s financial system. Thousands of banks Dwight D. Eisenhower enters the White House as the 34th President of the United States. The United States enters the conflict in Vietnam. The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 gives the Fed broader regulatory powers over bank holding companies. (FOMC). Although the Federal Reserve had set up an Open Market Investment Committee in 1923, the Karl R. Bopp is named president of the Philadelphia Fed, becoming one of the first professional economists to lead a Reserve Bank. The average U.S. inflation rate is 2.8%. John F. Kennedy enters the White House as the 35th President of the United States. 1953 1955 1956 1958 1958 1961 10 Federal Reserve System Inside the Federal Open Market Committee The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the Federal Reserve System’s main body for making monetary policy decisions. Congress reaffirmed the decentralized structure of the Federal Reserve in the Banking Act of 1935 when it restructured the FOMC. Congress gave voting rights on the FOMC to the seven Governors in Washington, D.C., as well as five of the 12 presidents of the regional Reserve Banks. The president of the New York Fed always votes (since the Open Market Trading Desk operates within its District; the Open Market Trading Desk conducts daily open market operations — buying/selling U.S. government securities on the open market — as needed to attain the federal funds rate target), along with four presidents from the other Reserve Banks who vote on a rotating basis; this rotation confirms that voting members always come from different parts of the country. The seven Governors ensure that the Board retains the majority of votes on the FOMC, but all 12 Reserve Bank presidents participate in discussions at the FOMC meetings. Reserve Banks were not obligated to carry out the Committee its current structure: seven Governors Committee’s recommendations. One Reserve Bank at the Board in Washington, D.C., and five of the could be selling Treasuries while another one was 12 Reserve Bank presidents. One of the voting buying them.21 members is always the president of the New York Two years later, the Banking Act of 1935 further defined the role of the FOMC, giving the After John F. Kennedy is assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. The Truth in Lending Act offers consumer protection by requiring lenders to disclose the cost of borrowing funds. Richard M. Nixon becomes the 37th President of the United States. Fed; the other four presidents serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.22 The Reserve Banks are Arthur Burns becomes the 10th Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1978. The average U.S. inflation rate is 5.7%. Gerald R. Ford enters the White House as the 38th President of the United States. 1963 1968 1969 1970 1970 1974 Federal Reserve System 11 Fed Facts The Outbreak of War The advent of World War II finally carried Funds for the Fed’s operations come from income on the American economy out of the Depression. its holdings of U.S. government securities and fees Manufacturing armaments and other goods needed from services it provides to financial institutions. After paying its expenses, for the war kept the economy buzzing into the early the Fed typically remits 90 percent to mid-1940s. During this period, the Federal Reserve of its earnings to the U.S. Treasury. acted at the Treasury’s request to keep interest rates low to help finance the war. But after World War II ended in 1945, the Treasury still wanted the Fed to continue to keep interest rates low.25 From the start, the Federal Reserve Act was not required to carry out the directions of the FOMC, specifically designated to set goals for monetary whose open market operations are centralized policy; instead, the Fed was required to furnish an at the Open Market Trading Desk at the New “elastic currency.” So, in essence, the Fed’s early York Fed.23 The 1935 law also changed the title of role was to safeguard the economy by preventing Reserve Bank heads from governor to president financial panics and bank runs that afflicted the and removed the Comptroller of the Currency and economy in the 19th century. It served as a lender the Secretary of the Treasury from their positions of last resort to make loans directly to depository on the Federal Reserve Board. The Banking Act of institutions through the discount windows of the 1935 also made the FDIC a permanent government Reserve Banks.26 agency and increased the maximum amount of insured deposits to $5,000. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act extends protection against discrimination in consumer and business lending. James E. “Jimmy” Carter Jr. takes the oath of office as the 39th President of the United States. The devastating aftereffects of the Great Depression, along with the insights of economist 24 The Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977 is passed. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is passed, encouraging banks to meet the credit needs of all community sectors. G. William Miller becomes the 11th Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1979. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act safeguards electronic financial transactions for consumers. 1974 1977 1977 1977 1978 1978 12 Federal Reserve System John Maynard Keynes, provided incentives for the which acknowledged the Fed’s independence in central bank to do more to guard the nation against setting monetary policy.28 recessions. The Employment Act of 1946 was the first By 1953, the nation entered another recession, legislative acknowledgment of such macroeconomic primarily a result of issues stemming from the policy goals. Although the act did not single out Korean War. Once recovery was well underway, the Federal Reserve, it mandated that the federal the Fed shifted its policy and raised interest rates government needed to foster “conditions under above 3 percent to restrain inflation. But its actions which there will be afforded useful employment … were not fast enough, and the inflation rate reached for those able, willing, and seeking to work, and to nearly 4 percent. When a second recession took promote maximum employment, production, and hold in mid-1957 and unemployment escalated, the purchasing power.” Fed responded quickly this time, sharply lowering 27 Americans were eager to move ahead after World War II. Pent-up demand for consumer products spurred a period of rapid economic growth. The nation’s productive capacity, which interest rates to spur spending and employment.29 The Age of the Consumer The 1960s ushered in more changes for the had been expanded substantially during World War nation, from miniskirts to Vietnam and from the II, was converted to peacetime production of goods assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, civil and services to satisfy growing consumer demand. rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator In 1950, the Treasury urged the Fed to maintain low rates at the start of the Korean War. But the central bank was reluctant to do so, starting a debate Robert F. Kennedy to astronaut Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon. It was a time of change. Congress passed several important consumer that lingered for about a year. Then in 1951, the protection laws during this decade under the two parties finally signed the Treasury-Fed Accord, umbrella of the Consumer Credit Protection Act The Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act (commonly known as the Humphrey-Hawkins Act) passes, requiring the Federal Reserve to provide Congress with a semiannual report on the Fed’s objectives and plans for monetary policy. Paul Volcker becomes the 12th Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 1987. The Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act is enacted to expedite the implementation of monetary policy, to gradually eliminate all limitations on interest rates payable on deposits and accounts, and to authorize interest-bearing transaction accounts. 1978 1979 1980 The average U.S. inflation rate climbs to 13.5%. 1980 Federal Reserve System 13 (CCPA) of 1969, regulating consumer transactions Fed tightened monetary policy when inflation that began with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) rebounded after the end of the wage and price in 1968, which requires lenders to disclose the cost controls and the jump in oil prices during 1973–1974. of borrowing to consumers. The CCPA includes Amid the social and political turbulence of the the TILA, as well as the Equal Credit Opportunity 1970s, marked by the Watergate break-in, the Arab oil Act (prohibiting discrimination during credit embargo, and President Nixon’s resignation, inflation transactions on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, soared to 12 percent in 1974. The nation faced another marital status, or national origin), the Fair Credit recession during 1974–1975, and inflation rates Billing Act (requiring a credit card company to fell during and after the recession. The Fed eased credit payments and correct billing errors without monetary policy in 1974, and the federal funds rate damaging a consumer’s credit score), the Fair Credit fell below 5 percent in early 1976. The shift in its and Charge Card Disclosure Act (requiring a credit monetary policy target changed from an interest rate card company to disclose the terms of the card, such target to a target for the growth rate of the M1 money as the APR, annual fees, and interest-free periods for supply (coins, paper currency, traveler’s checks, and payment before interest charges are assessed). all deposits in banks and savings institutions on 30 By the 1970s, high inflation and high unemployment plagued the nation. Inflation policy goals were unchanged: to pursue price climbed to about 6 percent at the start of the decade stability and full employment. But the Fed’s monetary and declined only slightly during and after the policy remained expansionary in the 1970s, and the recession in 1970. With inflation still above 4 percent Fed’s stated anti-inflation policy lost credibility.31 by mid-1971, President Richard Nixon issued Congress continued its consumer-protection wage and price controls that suppressed inflation initiatives with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act for a time, but ultimately, they didn’t work. The (ECOA) in 1974, which combats discrimination in Ronald W. Reagan becomes the 40th President of the United States. The Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act is passed to strengthen the financial stability of home mortgage lending institutions and to ensure the availability of home mortgage loans. Alan Greenspan becomes the 13th Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 2006 (the longest term as Chair). 1982 1987 1981 14 which checks can be written). The Fed’s monetary Federal Reserve System The stock market crashes on Black Monday. George H. W. Bush enters the White House as the 41st President of the United States. 1987 1989 MONEY, MONEY, MONEY consumer and business lending, and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) in 1978, which provides Of the roughly $1.29 trillion in circulation as of October 2014, consumer protection during electronic financial $1.25 trillion was in Federal Reserve Notes. A note’s life span transactions. Congress further directed the Federal actually varies by denomination: Smaller bills that are used Reserve to write regulations to allow for the frequently, such as the $1 note, are expected to last 5.9 years, implementation of these laws. In response, the whereas a $100 note can be circulated for about 15 years. To- Fed wrote Regulation Z to implement the TILA, day, the Federal Reserve Board issues $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, Regulation B for the ECOA, and Regulation E for and $100 notes. In 1969, the Federal Reserve and the Depart- the EFTA, which provided additional guidelines ment of the Treasury announced that $500, $1,000, $5,000, and and specifications.32 $10,000 (the largest note ever issued for public circulation) bank notes would be discontinued because of their lack of use. In 1977, Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which encourages banks to meet the credit needs of all segments in their communities. The Fed’s Regulation BB implements the CRA for state member banks. The Federal Reserve also established a community affairs Congress also passed the Full Employment and function at the Board of Governors and at each of the Balanced Growth Act of 1978, otherwise known as Reserve Banks. The aim of these departments was the Humphrey-Hawkins Act, which expanded the to support the Federal Reserve System’s economic goals of the Employment Act of 1946. In addition growth objectives by promoting community to setting the Fed’s mission to promote “full development in low- and moderate-income areas employment and production” and “reasonable price and to ensure fair and impartial access to credit in stability,” the Humphrey-Hawkins Act also required underserved markets. the Federal Reserve’s Chairman to testify before 33 The average U.S. inflation rate is 5.4%. 1990 The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 is passed, implementing the safety and soundness of the banking industry. 1991 William J. Clinton is sworn in as the 42nd President of the United States. The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 is passed, modifying the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, the revised statutes of the United States, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act for interstate banking and branching. 1993 1994 Federal Reserve System 15 Congress twice a year about the Fed’s objectives and Monetary Control Act (MCA) of 1980 changed the its plans for monetary policy.34 Today, the Federal way the Fed provided services. Before this legislation Reserve Chair still testifies before both the House was passed, the Fed had provided many services, and the Senate at least twice a year. such as check cashing, free of charge to member Although the economy was expanding during banks. The law mandated that the Federal Reserve the rest of the decade, the nation faced more unrest. should offer payment services not only to member Oil prices increased several times when oil exports banks but also to any depository institution that to the United States dropped amid the revolution in wanted to use them and to charge all institutions Iran, and inflation climbed to 14 percent in 1979. (both member and nonmember banks) for the That was the year President Jimmy Carter services an amount sufficient to cover the cost of appointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the providing the service; the law also granted depository Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Volcker took institutions subject to reserve requirements equal decisive actions to reduce inflation rates. Like access to discount window lending. The MCA many economists, Volcker believed that inflation is also changed the legal requirement for banks in basically a monetary phenomenon that occurs when regard to maintaining reserves with the Fed. Prior the money supply grows faster than output over a to the passage of the law, only member banks were period of time. So rather than targeting a short-term required to maintain reserves, which made them less interest rate, the Federal Reserve under Chairman competitive with nonmember banks because funds Volcker focused on controlling the growth of the held on reserve with the Fed cannot be lent out. The money supply.35 Although this action led to higher MCA now required all banks to maintain reserves interest rates, it succeeded in reducing inflation. with the Fed.36 Over time, interest rates dropped as well. The 1980s also began with a rough start as the Against this fluctuating economic backdrop, the The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (aka the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) is passed, repealing the provision that keeps commercial banking and investment separate. The average U.S. inflation rate is 3.4%. U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 10.4 percent in George W. Bush becomes the 43rd President of the United States. The World Trade Center Towers are destroyed by terrorists on September 11. The United States sends troops to Afghanistan. 1999 2000 2001 2001 16 Federal Reserve System The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is passed, mandating regulatory and compliance requirements to ensure accurate corporate disclosures and to protect consumers from fraudulent practices in enterprises. 2002 TOO BIG TO FAIL The financial woes of some of the biggest financial institutions made front-page headlines in 2008. The investment bank Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy; JPMorgan Chase acquired investment bank Bear Stearns, which was having trouble meeting its obligations; AIG (American International Group), a global financial services company, was unable to post collateral on its debts; Citigroup faced mounting losses in its portfolio; and Bank of America was dealing with the mortgage-related assets it assumed after acquiring Merrill Lynch. As these institutions faced escalating financial difficulties, each received help from the Federal Reserve. The Fed wanted to take steps to alleviate additional pressure exerted on the economy after the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007. Though some of these financial institutions were not the commercial banks to which the Federal Reserve usually provides support, they were firms whose failure would have had a drastic effect on the economy. The Federal Reserve extended credit and loans, assisted in acquisitions, or brokered financial arrangements to keep these companies afloat. To help stabilize the economy, the Fed also lowered short- and long-term interest rates and bought long-term Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities that had been used to fund prime mortgages. But some critics viewed the bailouts as a safety net for these so-called “too-big-to-fail” firms, which, if left to their own devices, could take more risks knowing that they would receive financial help if needed. Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan advocated the breakup of such big players: “If they’re too big to fail, they’re too big.” In 2010, former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke noted that governments provide support to the firms in a crisis “because they recognize that the consequences for the broader economy of allowing a disorderly failure greatly outweigh the costs of avoiding the failure in some way.” Though Section 13(3) of the original Federal Reserve Act allowed the Board of Governors to authorize the Reserve Banks to extend credit to individuals, partnerships, and corporations in “unusual and exigent circumstances,” the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 changed the playing field. It stipulated further safeguards and conditions before the Fed could extend loans or credit to ailing companies, adding “broad-based eligibility” and prior approval of the secretary of the Treasury, among other criteria. The United States sends troops to Iraq. The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act is passed, streamlining the electronic check-cashing process. Ben Bernanke becomes the 14th Chair of the Federal Reserve and serves until 2014. The Great Recession begins amid the subprime mortgage crisis. Barack H. Obama enters the White House as the 44th President of the United States. 2003 2003 2006 2007 2009 Federal Reserve System 17 Women of the Fed 1982. But President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cut legislation, the largest in Janet L. Yellen made history on February 3, 2014, when she started her term history, was designed to offer some as the first woman Chair of the Federal Reserve System, following in the footsteps relief, lowering taxes by $750 billion of former Chairs Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, and others. Her during the next five years. Volcker four-year term, which includes being Chair of the Federal Open Market Commit- remained Fed Chair until 1987 when tee (FOMC), will continue until February 3, 2018. Yellen had been the Board’s Vice Chair since 2010, when she also became a Board member; her term will expire in 2024. Before joining the Fed, she taught at the University of California at Berkeley Alan Greenspan took over. The new Chairman faced a challenge in his first and at Harvard University and was on the faculty of the London School of Econom- months when the New York Stock ics and Political Science. She was also president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Exchange recorded the largest drop in Bank of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010. a single day of 22.6 percent.37 The banking industry felt the Alice M. Rivlin was Vice Chair of the Board of Governors from 1996 to 1999. beginnings of deregulation by the Prior to joining the Board, she worked in government, academia, and nonprofit or- 1990s. The Riegle-Neal Interstate ganizations; she was also the founding director of the Congressional Budget Office. Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 allowed banks to set Karen N. Horn became the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (1982–1987) and the first woman president of a Reserve Bank in the up branches in other states. The history of the Federal Reserve System. Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, also called the Gramm- Nancy H. Teeters was the first woman to join the Fed’s Board of Governors Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act, repealed the (1978–1984). Her work with the Board started in 1957, when she joined the requirement that investment and Division of Research and Statistics; she was also a staff economist in the division’s commercial banking be separate, a government finance section. provision that was set forth in the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. TM 18 The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 is passed, mandating financial reform of practices and in several changes to Fed functionality. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is passed, ensuring that consumers are provided with information about the cost of mortgage settlements and protection from abusive practices. 2010 2013 Federal Reserve System The average U.S. inflation rate is 1.5%. The Federal Reserve System commemorates 100 years as the bankers’ bank for the United States. Janet Yellen steps in as the 15th Chair of the Federal Reserve. 2013 2013 2014 COMPARING U.S. CENTRAL BANKS 1791-1811 1816-1836 1913-Present First Bank of the United States Second Bank of the United States Federal Reserve System Supervisory Duties No No Yes Monetary Policy No, but it was large enough to affect credit conditions nationwide. No, but it was large enough to affect credit conditions nationwide. Yes, but in the early years, the Fed did not conduct monetary policy as we know it today. Branches Yes Yes Yes 20-Year Charter Yes, but the charter was not renewed. Yes, but the charter was not renewed. Yes, the Fed originally had a 20-year charter, but the McFadden Act of 1927 gave the central bank permanency. Issues Currency Yes Yes Yes Stockholders Yes, 20% was held by government; 80% by the public. Yes, 20% was held by government; 80% by the public. Yes, but only member banks hold stock, not the public. Stock Shares were publicly traded and held by foreign and domestic investors. Shares were publicly traded and held by foreign and domestic investors. Federal Reserve System member banks and state-chartered member banks buy nontradable stock in their District Reserve Bank; stock pays a fixed dividend of 6%. Commercial Bank Operations Yes, it accepted deposits from and made loans to the public. Yes, it accepted deposits from and made loans to the public. No, the Fed is a “bankers’ bank”; it makes loans only to banks and holds their deposits called reserves. Competition with State Banks Yes Yes None Services to Federal Government The bank served as the federal government’s fiscal agent, received its revenues, held its deposits, and made its payments. The bank served as the federal government’s fiscal agent, received its revenues, held its deposits, and made its payments. The Fed serves as the federal government’s fiscal agent, receives its revenues, holds its deposits, and makes its payments. Federal Reserve System 19 The GLB also allowed the creation of financial October 2004, fundamentally changed the ways holding companies, which were allowed to engage checks are cleared by banks. Prior to the law, checks in certain financial activities in addition to banking, had to be physically transported from the bank that including insurance, securities underwriting, and received a check to the bank on which the check was merchant banking. In 1996, Fed Chair Greenspan written. But with Check 21, an electronic image was suggested that “irrational exuberance” may be sent instead of the actual paper check.40 causing the extraordinary upswing of stock prices, which continued as the Dow Jones Industrial Average passed the 10,000 mark for the first time. during this decade, including the financial crisis 38 Entering a New Era The new millennium ushered in an era of and ensuing deep recession that started in 2007. Many people called this economic downturn the worst since the Great Depression, even calling the period the Great Recession. This time, the Fed terrorism. The attacks of September 11, 2001, took extraordinary steps in response to the crisis: stunned the nation. On 9/11 and days afterward, the It lowered short-term interest rates to near zero, Fed worked to maintain financial stability and kept established special lending programs, expanded the economy moving by pumping liquidity into traditional overnight loans through the discount U.S. financial markets. Federal Reserve operations window to 90 days, and supported credit markets continued throughout the crisis; the Fed worked to through open market purchases of long-term keep the payment systems and banking operations securities for the Fed’s portfolio.41 as close to normal as possible. The 9/11 attacks also resulted in the grounding Washington had its own response to the financial crisis. In July 2010, Congress passed the of all air transportation for several days. No flights Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer meant that the Fed’s ability to move checks, which Protection Act. While the main goal of the legislation were often transported from one part of the country was financial reform to address the practices that led to another by air, was severely impaired. One of to the crisis, the legislation also resulted in several the ways that the Fed kept the financial system changes for the Federal Reserve, three of which are operational was to credit the accounts of the banks particularly significant.42 receiving check payments while waiting to debit First, Congress expanded the Fed’s regulatory the accounts of the paying banks until planes began role by adding savings and loan holding companies flying again. to the Fed’s supervisory activities. Because nonbank 39 The Fed asked Congress to enact a law that 20 The Fed also had to face other challenges companies contributed to the financial crisis, would allow a substitute check — an image of the the Fed was also given supervisory authority check rather than the original paper check — to be for systemically important nonbank financial legally acceptable for collection and payment. As companies. Congress also created the Financial a result, Congress passed the Check Clearing for Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to conduct the 21st Century Act, commonly called Check 21, surveillance and monitor risks to the financial in 2003. This legislation, which went into effect in system. The Fed is a member of the FSOC. Federal Reserve System Second, Congress placed limits on the Fed’s role under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act as lender of last resort in unusual and exigent circumstances. During the financial crisis leading up to the Great Recession, the Fed used this authority to make $182 billion in loans to American International Group (AIG) to prevent AIG from filing for bankruptcy, which would have destabilized the global financial system because of the institution’s size. However, the Dodd-Frank Act allows the Fed to use its emergency lending power to make a loan to one company Living History On December 16, 2013, more than 80 Federal Reserve Board officials gathered in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the signing of the Federal Reserve Act. Four Federal Reserve System Chairs whose service has spanned 35 years were on hand; from left to right, Janet Yellen (2014–present), the first woman to be appointed Chair; Alan Greenspan (1987–2006), Ben Bernanke (2006–2014), and Paul Volcker (1979–1987). as long as that loan is part of a larger program available to an entire sector or industry. Finally, Congress transferred the Fed’s authority While rulemaking authority for most consumer to write regulations for most federal consumer protection laws was then transferred to the CFPB, protection laws to the newly created Consumer authority for writing regulations for certain federal Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Although laws, including the CRA, the National Flood Dodd-Frank funds the CFPB through the Fed every Insurance Act, and the Expedited Funds Availability year, the new bureau is independent of the Fed in Act, remains with the Fed and other existing federal terms of its decision-making authority. Congress agencies. And the Fed continues to be the consumer created the bureau to consolidate most consumer compliance regulator for state member banks with protection regulatory authority for financial services assets of less than $10 billion. It also conducts limited into one agency. The CFPB ensures that banks with consumer examinations of state member banks with assets of more than $10 billion and certain nonbank assets of more than $10 billion to ensure compliance financial service providers, such as payday lenders, with laws that the bureau doesn’t cover in its comply with consumer protection laws. examinations, such as the CRA and flood insurance.44 43 Federal Reserve System 21 100 Years Later the prominence to which it has risen. Unlike its The Federal Reserve has undergone many predecessors, the Fed has weathered the political transitions and weathered many economic storms storms of its day. It insulated itself from partisan since its founding in 1913. Along with these shifts politics, but it is clearly accountable to Congress in central bank operations, the economy evolved and the American people. Its centralized structure in many ways, the banking industry changed with has kept it close to the economy on Main Streets the times, and the financial services offered today throughout America. And that has made it ready to would be all but unrecognizable to our forebears. tackle the challenges to come as the Fed enters its But perhaps the most striking change in second century of service as the nation’s central bank. American central banking in the past 200 years is ENDNOTES 1 The terms in bold italic are explained in the Glossary on page 25. See the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, The Second Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking, pp. 2–3. 2 See Kindleberger and Aliber, pp. 4–5, and Bordo and Haubrich, pp. 5–8. 3 See Aldrich, “Suggested Plan for Monetary Legislation,” Revised Edition, October 1911, FRASER, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, fraser.stlouisfed.org/docs/historical/nmc/nmc_784_1911pt2. pdf, pp. 5–24. 4 Brief biographies of key players in the Federal Reserve Act’s creation are included, beginning on page 26. 5 See FRASER, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “Reserve Bank Organization Committee,” fraser.stlouisfed.org/topics/?tid=14. 6 22 Federal Reserve System See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Decision of the Reserve Bank Organization Committee Determining the Federal Reserve Districts and the Location of Federal Reserve Banks Under Federal Reserve Act, Approved December 23, 1913, April 2, 1914, with Statement of the Committee in Relation Thereto, April 10, 1914,” Organization Committee, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1914–Business & Economics, pp. 1–27. See additional information on page 5 of this booklet for details on the 12 cities chosen as the homes of the Federal Reserve Banks. 7 8 Ibid. See Meltzer, A History of the Federal Reserve, Vol. 1: 1913–1951, pp. 73–74. 9 See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “The Structure of the Federal Reserve System: Board of Directors,” www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/frseries/frseri4.htm. 10 11 See Meltzer, pp. 216–217. See Alan Brinkley, Interview, “The First Measured Century,” The Great Depression (Public Broadcasting Service, 2000), www. pbs.org/fmc/interviews/brinkley.htm. 12 See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Consumer’s Guide, Credit Cards, Credit Protection Laws,” www.federalreserve.gov/creditcard/regs.html. 30 31 13 See David C. Wheelock, “Regulation, Market Structure, and the Bank Failures of the Great Depression,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, March/April 1995, pp. 27–38. 32 14 See Ben S. Bernanke, Speech, “Asset Price ‘Bubbles’ and Monetary Policy,” New York Chapter of the National Association for Business Economics, New York, NY, October 15, 2002, www. federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2002/20021015/default. htm. 33 15 See Michael Gou, Gary Richardson, Alejandro Komai, and Daniel Park, “Banking Acts of 1932,” 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory.org/Events/ DetailView/12. 16 See Markham, pp. 216–217. 17 See Wheelock, pp. 27–29. See Stephen Greene, “Emergency Banking Act of 1933,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory.org/Events/detailview/23. 18 19 Ibid. See Bernanke, Interview, “The Federal Reserve in the Great Depression,” The Fed and You (video), www.philadelphiafed.org/ education/federal-reserve-and-you/chapters.cfm?chapter=8. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Regulations,” www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/reglisting. htm. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Community Reinvestment Act (CRA),” www.federalreserve.gov/ communitydev/cra_about.htm. See Aaron Steelman, “Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978, Commonly Called Humphrey-Hawkins,” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (October 1978), 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory.org/Events/ DetailView/39. 34 See Paul Volcker, Interview, “The First Measured Century,” Stagflation/Deregulation (Public Broadcasting Service, 2000), www.pbs.org/fmc/interviews/volcker.htm. 35 See Kenneth J. Robinson, “Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, March 1980,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, www.federalreservehistory.org/Events/ DetailView/43. 36 37 See Miner, pp. 110–112. 38 See Shiller, Irrational Exuberance, pp. 1–10. 20 21 See Meltzer, pp. 150–152. 22 See Meltzer, pp. 484–486. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “What Is the FOMC and When Does It Meet?” www.federalreserve.gov/ faqs/about_12844.htm. 23 See Richardson, Komai, and Gou, “Banking Act of 1935,” 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory. org/Events/DetailView/26. 24 25 See Daniel R. Sanches, “The Second World War and Its Aftermath: 1941 to 1951,” 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory.org/Period/Essay/11. See David C. Wheelock, “The Fed’s Formative Years,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory.org/Period/Essay/9. 26 27 See Aaron Steelman, “Employment Act of 1946,” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory.org/Events/DetailView/15. 28 See Allan Sproul, “The ‘Accord’ — A Landmark in the First Fifty Years of the Federal Reserve System,” Monthly Review, November 1964, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, pp. 227–236. See Axilrod, pp. 75–76. See Roger W. Ferguson Jr., Speech, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, February 5, 2003, Federal Reserve Board, www. federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2003/20030205/default. htm. 39 See Federal Reserve Bank Services, “About Check 21 Act,” www.frbservices.org/eventseducation/education/check21_act. html. 40 See Meltzer, “Federal Reserve Policy in the Great Recession,” www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/meltzer-federal_reserve_ policy_in_the_great_recession.pdf. 41 See Keith Goodwin, “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010,” July 21, 2010, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory.org/Events/DetailView/59. 42 See Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, www. consumerfinance.gov/the-bureau/. 43 See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Consumer Compliance Handbook, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/ supmanual/, pp. 1–8. 44 See Robert L. Hetzel, “The Treasury-Fed Reserve Accord to the Mid-1960s, 1951–1965,” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System, www.federalreservehistory. org/Period/Essay/12. 29 Federal Reserve System 23 REF ERENC E S Axilrod, Stephen H. Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and Its Management, Martin Through Greenspan to Bernanke (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009). Bernanke, Ben S. Speech, “Asset Price ‘Bubbles’ and Monetary Policy,” New York Chapter of the National Association for Business Economics, New York, NY, October 15, 2002. Galsner, David, ed. Business Cycles and Depressions: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1997. Kindleberger, Charles P., and Robert Aliber. Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, 5th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Consumer Compliance Handbook, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs. Markham, Jerry W. A Financial History of the United States: Vol. II, from J.P. Morgan to the Institutional Investor 19001970. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2002. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “The Structure of the Federal Reserve System: Board of Directors.” Medley, Bill. Highways of Commerce: Central Banking and the U.S. Payments System. Kansas City, MO: The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 2014. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Decision of the Reserve Bank Organization Committee Determining the Federal Reserve Districts and the Location of Federal Reserve Banks Under Federal Reserve Act, Approved December 23, 1913, April 2, 1914, with Statement of the Committee in Relation Thereto, April 10, 1914,” Organization Committee, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1914–Business & Economics. Meltzer, Allan H. A History of the Federal Reserve, Vol. 1: 1913–1951. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003. Bordo, Michael D., and Joseph G. Haubrich. “Credit Crises, Money, and Contractions: An Historical View,” Journal of Monetary Economics, 57:1, January 2010. Federal Reserve System, 100 Years of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, The First Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking (Philadelphia: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 2009). Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, The Second Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking (Philadelphia: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 2010). 24 FRASER, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Federal Reserve System Miner, John B. Organizational Behavior One: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership, Vol. 1, Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2005. Moen, Jon, and Ellis W. Tallman. “The Bank Panic of 1907: The Role of Trust Companies,” Journal of Economic History, 52:3, September 1992. Shiller, Robert J. Irrational Exuberance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000. Sproul, Allan. “The ‘Accord’ — A Landmark in the First Fifty Years of the Federal Reserve System,” Monthly Review, November 1964, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Wheelock, David C. “Regulation, Market Structure, and the Bank Failures of the Great Depression,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, March/April 1995. GL O S SARY ACCOMMODATIVE MONETARY POLICY Designed to stimulate economic growth by increasing the money supply, this policy usually features a series of decreases in the federal funds rate to make it easier and less expensive for businesses to borrow money. BANK RESERVES This is the amount of deposits not loaned out by banks. Bank reserves can be calculated by subtracting a bank’s total loans from its total deposits. CENTRAL BANK This governmental institution is responsible for issuing currency and monetary policy, which involves the overall growth of money and credit as well as the level of short-term interest rates. The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. DEFLATION This economic state refers to the general downward movement of prices for goods and services; deflation is reflected as a negative inflation rate. DEPRESSION Considered to be a very deep recession, this period of severely declining economic activity across the economy is not confined to specific sectors or regions. For example the economic contraction of the Great Depression in the 1930s was so extreme that the unemployment rate reached 25 percent. DISCOUNT WINDOW This is one of the Fed’s lending programs; it refers to programs under which credit can be provided to eligible depository institutions (savings banks, commercial banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions). FISCAL AGENT This is the organization that agrees to accept and be responsible for another organization’s money. In this case, the Fed is the fiscal agent for the federal government. INFLATION This economic state is marked by general, sustained upward movement in the prices of goods and services. LENDER OF LAST RESORT The Fed makes loans against high-quality collateral (assets pledged as security for the loans). Depository institutions may turn to the Fed as a lender of last resort during a financial crisis or a national/regional emergency. MEMBER BANKS All nationally chartered banks are members of the Fed, but they are supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. State-chartered financial institutions are under the supervisory control of the Fed’s Board of Governors. These institutions are structured in much the same way as private corporations are in that they have stock in the Fed Banks and earn dividends. Member banks also appoint six of the nine members of each Bank’s board of directors. M1 This term refers to a specific measure of the money supply, which includes coins, paper currency, traveler’s checks, and all deposits in those banks and savings institutions on which a check can be written. MONEY SUPPLY This is the total amount of money available in the economy. Increasing the money supply can generate economic growth in the short run; however, when the growth of the money supply exceeds the growth of output in the economy for too long, inflation will be triggered. OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS The Federal Reserve uses this tool to implement monetary policy; it involves selling or buying government securities on the open market. RECESSION This economic state signals a period of general economic decline, which is typically defined as a contraction in the GDP for six months (two consecutive quarters) or longer. TOO BIG TO FAIL Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke defined the term in 2010 as a firm “whose size, complexity, interconnectedness, and critical functions are such that, should the firm go unexpectedly into liquidation, the rest of the financial system and the economy would face severe adverse consequences.” Federal Reserve System 25 Biographical Sketches Key Players in the Life of the Fed Carter Glass (1858-1946) Carter Glass, the son of a newspaperman, was born in Lynchburg, VA. After attending school, he worked as a printer’s apprentice, reporter, and editor and eventually owned his own newspaper. In 1899, he was elected to the state senate and served as a delegate to Virginia’s constitutional convention. Three years later, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was appointed to the Committee on Banking and Currency. It was during the Panic of 1907 that Glass saw the need to reduce, if not eliminate, the number of bank panics and financial crises as well as the need for a more elastic currency. Early on, President Woodrow Wilson saw the potential in Glass and later appointed him Secretary of the Treasury, a position he held from 1918 to 1920. Although Glass joined the Senate as an appointee to fill a vacancy after the death of a senator, he was subsequently elected to several terms on his own. One of his biggest accomplishments came while he was in the House: He helped fashion the bill with Robert L. Owen that would later pass in both legislative chambers and become the Federal Reserve Act, which President Wilson signed on December 23, 1913. Robert L. Owen (1856-1947) Robert L. Owen, the son of the president of the Virginia and Tennessee Railway, was born in Lynchburg, VA. He graduated from Washington and Lee University with a master’s degree in 1877. But after the loss of the family fortune, he left his home state and moved to Indian Territory with his mother, who was of Native American descent. They lived in an area that would eventually become Oklahoma, where he taught at the Cherokee Orphan Asylum and later studied law. After he gained admittance to the Bar, he was selected to head the United States Union Agency for the Five Civilized Tribes. In the years that followed, Owen owned and edited a newspaper in Oklahoma and later founded the First National Bank of Muskogee, serving as its president until 1900. When Oklahoma officially became a state in 1907, the state 26 Federal Reserve System legislature appointed him as representative. He became one of the state’s first two senators and one of the nation’s first senators of Native American descent. During his time as senator, he worked closely with Carter Glass on creating and prepping the Federal Reserve Act for President Woodrow Wilson’s signature in 1913. In 1925, he retired from the Senate and then practiced law in Washington, D.C. Although Owen was instrumental in the creation of the Federal Reserve Act, much of the subsequent glory and recognition was given to Carter Glass, a situation that caused a rift in the men’s friendship for years until Owen wrote to Glass saying that it was time for the ill will to end. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) The 28th President of the United States was born in Virginia, the son of a Presbyterian minister. Wilson graduated from Princeton University and the University of Virginia Law School and later received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He taught at Princeton and became president of the university in 1902 before his election as governor of New Jersey in 1910. The Democratic party nominated him as its presidential candidate in 1912, and Wilson won the election with a large portion of the popular vote and an overwhelming majority of the electoral college. In 1913, Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act, legislation that created the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. Though he was reelected in 1916 on the promise that he would keep America out of the war in Europe, Wilson nonetheless asked Congress to declare war on Germany in April 1917. After the war ended in November 1918, Wilson spent time urging Congress to sign the Treaty of Versailles and fought for the provisions of the treaty that would form the League of Nations. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) The 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, NY, to a prominent, wealthy family. A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia Law School, Roosevelt was elected to the New York Senate in 1910 and was elected governor of New York in 1928 before winning the presidential election in 1932. Although stricken with polio in 1921, his courage and determination to pursue a lifelong career in politics was unstoppable. During his years as President, he instituted measures to deal with the Great Depression. Best known for the quote from his inaugural address, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” Roosevelt instilled hope into the American people. His program for reform launched a strategy to get the nation back on its feet through Social Security, taxing the wealthy, and new regulations for banks and public utilities, as well as an extensive work relief program for the nation’s unemployed. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt orchestrated the nation’s manpower and resources to enter World War II. Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented four terms in the White House. Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was born in West Branch, IA, moved to Oregon as a young boy, and eventually graduated from Stanford University with a degree in mining engineering. Before World War I erupted, he had been working in China, and he was in London when the war started. He worked with the American consul in London to help get American tourists home who had been stranded by the war. He also helped to establish the Commission for Relief in Belgium, which aided Belgian citizens besieged by the war. His work on the commission led President Woodrow Wilson to ask Hoover to become the U.S. Food Administrator to ration food supplies for American forces and to keep Americans fed during the war. After the war, he organized food shipments to Europe to help those who had been dispossessed by the war. He later served as Secretary of Commerce in the administrations of both Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. He was nominated as the Republican candidate for president in 1928, winning by a landslide. However, the worsening economic crisis and stock market crash in 1929 spelled doom for Hoover’s presidency. Although Hoover tried to deal with the initial stages of the Great Depression, he was not elected to a second term in 1932; he lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hoover spent his post-White House years writing books and articles and serving on two presidential commissions. Paul Volcker (1927-present) Born in Cape May, NJ, Paul Volcker lived in the North Jersey town of Teaneck. He graduated from Princeton in 1949 and earned a master’s degree from Harvard University in 1951. After Harvard, he held a fellowship at the London School of Economics before returning to the United States, where he became an economist in the Research Department of the New York Fed and later a special assistant in the Securities Department. In 1957, he joined Chase Manhattan Bank as a financial economist; in 1962, he became director of the Office of Financial Analysis at the U.S. Treasury, and in the following year, he was named deputy undersecretary for monetary affairs. Although he left the Treasury to rejoin Chase Manhattan as a vice president, he later returned to the Treasury in 1969 as undersecretary for affairs, a position he held for five years. He was a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton and was named president of the New York Fed in 1975. Then-President Jimmy Carter appointed him Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 1979, a post he held until 1987. From 2009 to 2011, he served as chairman of President Barack Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Alan Greenspan (1926-present) Alan Greenspan was Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for five terms, from August 11, 1987, to January 31, 2006. Before assuming his duties as Chair, he held several jobs in the private and public sector. A native New Yorker, Greenspan received a doctorate and a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in economics from New York University. He started his career as an analyst for the National Industrial Conference Board and was later appointed chairman and president of TownsendGreenspan & Co., an economic consulting firm. During Gerald Ford’s presidency, Greenspan was chairman of the President’s Council on Economic Advisers. Then, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Greenspan served on the Economic Policy Advisory Board and as a consultant to the Congressional Budget Office. As Chair of the Board of Governors, he led the Reserve through turbulent economic times, starting with the stock market crash in 1987, followed by two national recessions, the Asian Federal Reserve System 27 financial crisis in 1997, and the terrorist attacks in 2001. In 2006, when Greenspan left office, he launched Greenspan Associates, LLC, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Christopher Dodd (1944-present) Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut native, was a U.S. Senator for more than 30 years. Before entering politics, Dodd graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School in Maryland, Providence College, and the University of Louisville law school. A Democrat, Dodd entered the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut in 1974 and was reelected in 1976 and 1978, and then was elected U.S. Senator in 1980, becoming the longest serving senator in the history of Connecticut. From 1995 to 1997, he was general chairman of the Democratic National Committee and served as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee until he retired in 2011. Dodd was also a candidate for President of the United States in 2007. Before joining forces with Barney Frank on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Dodd provided input on major legislation, authoring the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 and adding the pay limitations in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He was also the author and lead sponsor of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. Barney Frank (1940-present) Barnett “Barney” Frank, a lifelong politician, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts for more than three decades. A Democrat, he was chairman of the House Financial Services Committee from 2007 to 2011 and was a sponsor of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which ushered in reforms to the U.S. financial industry. Frank, who was born and raised in New Jersey, has degrees from Harvard College and Harvard University Law School. He started his career as a political aide before he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1972 28 Federal Reserve System and to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980. As chair of the House of Financial Services Committee, Frank took an active lead in mortgage foreclosure bailout issues, supporting the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act and the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008. Ben S. Bernanke (1953-present) Ben S. Bernanke, born in Augusta, GA, and raised in Dillon, SC, succeeded Alan Greenspan as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2006. Prior to becoming Chair, Bernanke held a variety of academic positions at several universities. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he became an assistant professor and later an associate professor of economics at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, as well as a visiting professor of economics at New York University and MIT. In 1985, he joined the faculty of Princeton University as assistant professor of economics and public affairs. He later became the Class of 1926 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and the Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, as well as chair of the Economics Department at Princeton. Beginning in 2002, Bernanke became a member of the Board of Governors; he also was chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2005 to 2006. During his term as Chair of the Board of Governors, Bernanke faced two major economic downturns: the financial crisis from 2006 to 2010 and the Great Recession. In the face of these crises, he led initiatives to implement quantitative easing (the Fed program of purchasing mortgage-backed securities and long-term treasuries to stimulate the economy), adopting the formal inflation target rate of 2 percent, providing forward guidance on short-term interest rates, and promoting the transparency of the Federal Reserve through quarterly press conferences to detail the decisions of the Federal Open Market Committee. www.philadelphiafed.org October 2014
@FedFRASER