View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

For release on delivery
10:00 A.M.
E.D.T.
August 3, 1989

Statement by

Wayne D. Angell
and
Edward W. Kelley, Jr.

Members,

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

before the

Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy

of the
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs

of the
U.S. House of Representatives

August 3, 1989

It is a pleasure for Governor Kelley and me to
visit with this Subcommittee today.

This is the third time

that I have had the opportunity to discuss and review the
Federal Reserve System's expenses and budget with you.
Today as we look at the Federal Reserve System's budget for
1989, Governor Kelley will discuss the Board's budget and
major initiatives,
Bank budgets,

and my comments will focus on the Reserve

as well as major System initiatives.

The Board has recently made available to the public
and to this Subcommittee copies of our publication entitled
Annual Report;

Budget Review,

1988-89 presenting detailed

information about spending plans for 1989.
attached tables have been updated
experience

and, therefore,

for

1988

Some of the
actual

small variations exist from data

in that document.

For 1989, the Federal Reserve System has budgeted
operating expenses of $1.4 billion,

an increase of 5.5

percent over 1988 actual expenses.

Before getting to the

substance of our 1989 budget,

I would remind the

Subcommittee of two aspects of Federal Reserve System
operations that affect our budget in unusual ways.

First,

41 percent of System expenses arise from services provided
to depository institutions for which, by law, we charge fees
adequate to cover all costs.

Since additional costs of

-

2 -

these services are covered by additional revenues,

any

increases in costs do not result in reduced earnings
returned to the U.S. Treasury.

In fact, since fees cover

actual costs plus imputed taxes and return on capital
we call the private sector adjustment factor)
of float,

(what

and the cost

increased costs in priced services actually

increase our earnings contribution to the Treasury.

Second,

many fiscal agency operations are provided to the Treasury
Department and other agencies on a reimbursable basis.
Altogether,

58 percent of our total expenses are either

recovered through pricing or are reimbursable

(see Table 1).

Historical Overview
It may be helpful to put the budget for 1989 in
perspective by sketching the most recent 10-year history of
System expenses.

Between 1978 and 1988, Federal Reserve

System expenses increased at an average annual rate of 6.8
percent

(see Table 2 and Chart 1); System employment

decreased at a rate of 0.1 percent
increased 41 percent

(see Chart 2).

(see Table 2); and volume
Although unit costs did

increase in the early eighties as Federal Reserve Bank
volumes adjusted to pricing following implementation of the
Monetary Control Act,
pricing was completed,

since 1983, when the transition to
unit cost for the composite of all

- 3 -

functions has declined 0.8 percent per year on average even
while improvements have been made in the quality of
services.

For priced services, a decline in unit costs has
been particularly sharp in the electronic payment areas
where equipment is more readily substituted for human
resources, where volume growth has been the highest,

and

where the general decline in the cost of computing equipment
relative to capacity has had the greatest effect.

In

commercial check processing, on the other hand, where there
has been a significant effort to increase availability and
other improvements in the quality of services,

there has

been an increase in unit cost of 1.7 percent per year since
1983.

In the most recent year-over-year comparison

over 1987)

(1988

check unit costs rose 4.5 percent due to

implementing provisions of the Expedited Funds Availability
legislation

(EFA).

For non-priced cash operations— involving the
distribution of currency and coin— the decline in unit cost
has also been sharp;

since 1983 the average decline has been

4.1 percent per year.
non-priced,

In fiscal agency operations,

also

there has been an increase in unit cost of 1.2

percent per year since 1983, but a decline in unit cost of
3.1 percent since 1986.

- 4 -

From 1987 to 1988 we have seen an increase in
overall unit costs of 1.8 percent in the composite mainly
reflecting the implementation of the Expedited Funds
Availability Legislation.

The impact of a long-term productivity gain is
perhaps best seen in our trend in Reserve Bank employment,
which is shown in Table 3.

In spite of significant growth

in volumes of operations, major transition adjustments
following new legislation,
industry,

and rapid changes in the banking

actual employment has decreased from 1978 to 1988

by 142 employees.

In presenting our spending plans for 1989, I would
like to mention that both the Reserve Bank budgets and the
Board's budget must be approved by the Board of Governors.
Reserve Bank budgets are first approved by the Bank's Board
of Directors and then reviewed by the Committee on Federal
Reserve Bank Activities prior to submission to the Board of
Governors.

Governor Kelley oversees the Board's budget and

I will turn to him for that discussion.

- 5 *

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Board of Governors Budget

I am happy to address you today on the 1989 budget
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Since the budget process of the board has been discussed in
testimony provided in earlier years,

and since it is

thoroughly covered in the Annual Report; Budget Review for
1988-89,

I do not plan to discuss it today.

Instead I will

limit myself to the major themes of the 1989 budget,

some

trend information you may find useful, and a discussion of
some of the more significant issues facing the Board.

In November 1988 the Board approved a 1989 budget
of $96.0 million.

This amount was 6.0 percent greater than

our 1988 expenses.

While this increase was somewhat higher

than the level experienced in 1986, 1987, or 1988, it was
necessary in light of new initiatives facing the Board and
of some areas where we had to commit additional resources.
Also, the very low increases in 1986 and 1987 reflected the
initial savings associated with our successful program to
reduce staff by 10 percent while assuming a growing
workload.

While the effect on our year-to-year increment

has now disappeared,

the savings from this staff reduction

- 6 -

continue each year since the Board has not increased the
number of positions since that reduction.

Ten-Year Trend
Over the last ten years the Board's expenses have
increased at an average annual rate of 6.0 percent.
terms,

In real

this rate of increase is 1.4 percent per year.

The

number of employees included in the 1989 budget is virtually
identical to the number at the end of 1978 in spite of
dramatic increases in the Board's workload. Key pieces of
legislation that have affected the Board's workload over the
period include the Financial Institutions Regulatory and
Interest Rate Control Act, the International Banking Act,
the Monetary Control Act, and most recently the Expedited
Funds Availability Section of the Competitive Equality
Banking Act.

Recently, of course, we have devoted a

meaningful amount of our resources to issues related to the
savings and loan problem.

Each of these Acts has had substantial cost
implications for the Board.

Typically,

however,

after an

initial period of adjustment, we have found ways to reduce
the volume of resources necessary to meet our ongoing
responsibilities along with newly assigned functions.
instance,

For

implementation of the Monetary Control Act in 1980

- 7 -

required extensive data prQcessing resources to accommodate
collection of reserve data for the almost 35,000 financial
institutions the Act added to the 5,400 previously covered
by the Federal Reserve.

To accommodate the cost growth

related to the increase,

steps were taken in 1985 to

streamline the transmission, editing,
of these data;
reducing costs.

storage, and analysis

those steps have been extremely successful in
In an organization which must gather,

store, and manipulate large quantities of data, an
aggressive office automation program has substantially
improved the productivity of staff members and has been,
part,

in

responsible for our ability to limit the size of our

st a f f .

Major Issues

Financial Services Industry Developments
Basic changes in the financial and banking
industries have forced us in recent years to plan for and
deal with new and complex issues.

Earlier in the 1980's,

deregulation forced us to increase the quantity and quality
of our supervision efforts.

Recently,

resolving the savings and loan problem,

efforts to assist in
combined with the

large number of problem institutions in the banking
industry, have greatly increased our workload.

- 8 -

International Issues
Increasingly, we find ourselves analyzing a global
economy in which we must foresee problems in order to react
correctly and quickly when they do occur.
situation in less developed countries,
deficit and exchange rate issues,

The debt

our own foreign trade

and international

supervision continue to require significant resources.

Monetary Policy
Both of the above sets of issues created new
complexities in the management of monetary policy.

To

confront these issues, we have researched new analytical
concepts and have enhanced our data collection through new
surveys which supplement our traditional methods of dealing
with this critical mission.

Other New Initiatives
As we informed you last year, we continue to be
able to hold the line on expenses and employment because of
the dedication of our staff and our aggressive program to
improve productivity through automation.

Factors leading to

the increase in expenses included funding for:
percent general pay increase

a 4.1

(equal to the Federal GPI)

for the initial costs of our new compensation program;

and
a

- 9 -

major survey of consumer finances to update and expand the
volume of information available for monetary and economic
policy making;

and continuation of our other efforts to

enhance the supervision function.

We also initiated a

program to consolidate key banking structure and financial
data into a database to be used throughout the Federal
Reserve System.

This program is of particular importance

since the number of financial institutions which do business
in more than one Reserve Bank District is growing.

Finally,

there was a 20 percent increase in the cost of the Office of
the Inspector General which the Board established in 1987.
This increase reflected simply the full-year cost of a
complete staff rather than the part-year costs during 1988
while the Office was starting up.

New Compensation Program
The complexity of the issues I have discussed has
required us to take steps to ensure that we are able to
recruit and retain a very capable staff.
testified in each of the last two years,

As we have
the major threat to

our ability to maintain such a staff has been the growing
disparity between our salaries and those of the marketplace,
particularly for some of our key job families.

Our 1989

budget provides funding to implement a new compensation
program that is more market and performance appreciative

-

10

-

than our former system and will offer compensation that is
competitive with the private sector or government agencies
that perform work similar to our own.

In 1987 and again in 1988, as interim measures to
combat this problem, we adjusted the salary structure for
some job families.

These changes were to maintain some

measure of comparability with the marketplace.

As entry

level salaries for such professional positions as economists
and attorneys escalated,

and as salary compression and

turnover of experienced people became a greater problem,
became clear that such measures were not adequate.

it

In

response we developed a more comprehensive program to ensure
that the Board's overall salary structure was equitable and
competitive.

Surveys were conducted of salary rates for

jobs similar to those at the Board and salary administration
procedures were developed.

The surveys found that there

were a significant number of employees who were not being
properly compensated in comparison to market rates.

To rectify this situation the Board has approved a
new compensation program for employees,
which we initiated on July 2.

the first phase of

The plan is to phase in the

new program over an eighteen-month period, reaching the
final adjustment in January,

1991.

-

11

-

The new compensation program for all of our
employees will increase our 1989 salary costs by $1.6
million,

or 1.7 percent of the budget.

Had the whole

program been implemented in 1989, rather than being phased
in, the full-year cost would have been $4.6 million or 4.8
percent.

The increases in certain job families are greater

than others, however,

since the increases are targeted at

those career paths that were found to be underpaid in the
surveys conducted by the consultants to the Board.

Future

increases for employees will be tied to the market.

Productivity
Throughout this statement,

I have referred to our

having handled increases in workload without corresponding
increases in staffing levels.

I might cite some examples

for the period 1980 through 1988:

-Because of the Monetary Control Act, the number of
financial institutions from which the Board was
required to collect reserve data rose from 5,400
to over 40,000 in 1981.
-The number of bank holding companies

(BHC)

monitored has risen from approximately 3,100 to
approximately 6,400.

-

12

-

-The number of bank and BHC examination reports
analyzed rose from approximately 600 to
approximately 1,400 in the same period.
-The number of bank holding companies under extra
supervisory review rose from 300 to approximately
1,500.

These examples are typical of the kinds of
increases the Board has encountered.

I would add that the

volumes cited explain only part of the effect of workload
growth —

the complexity of the issues involved has greatly

increased also.

In summary then, the 1989 budget provides the
resources necessary for the Board to properly perform its
critical functions.

At the same time the budget continues

to demonstrate the restraint that the Board has always shown
in the use of resources.

At this point I would return the presentation to
Governor Angell for a discussion of the Reserve Bank
budgets.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

- 13 -

Reserve Bank Budgets
The total budgeted expense of the Reserve
Banks— both priced and non-priced— was held to the 198 9
budget objective of 5.5 percent over estimated 1988
expenditures.

Again these increases include the cost of EFA

which is expected to account for 0.4 percent of the overall
increase.

In addition to EFA, eight major initiatives

account for much of the budgeted increase in Reserve Bank
expenses

(see Table 4).

In order to fund these major

initiatives of $26.4 million,

the remainder of the budget

increase was limited to 3.5 percent so as to meet the budget
o b jec t i v e .

The larger initiatives for 1989 include:

1)

Automation

($9.8 m i l l i o n ) .

Reserve Bank operations

in today's environment require a more fail-safe
computer environment, more use of office
automation,

and extended communication networks -

Included are projects to make the nation's payments
system more available and reliable,

and to provide

for disaster recovery.

2)

Facility improvements

($5.7 m i l l i o n ) .

Many of the

System's facilities are 40 to 50 years old and are

- 14 -

no longer efficient.

In 1989, building projects in

four Districts account for most of this increase.
One project is for asbestos management;

the others

will provide needed office and vault space.
in m y remarks,

Later

I shall stress the need for Congress

to remove the limitation on Federal Reserve branch
building funds to enable us to continue to meet
public needs for Federal Reserve services.

3)

Increased supervisory and regulatory activities
($3.1 m i l l i o n ) .

The Reserve Banks require greater

resources to conduct more holding company
examinations,

to implement Regulation CC

(EFA), and

to handle the greater complexity of examinations
generally.

4)

Programs for the U.S. Treasury

($2.2 m i l l i o n ) .

These programs will lead to long-run efficiencies
in the issuance of savings bonds and other public
debt instruments but result in additional expenses
at some Reserve Banks.

The programs involve more

centralization of operations and increased
automation.

- 15 -

It may be helpful to turn to the 1989 budgeted
expenses on a program basis for four service lines

(see

Table 5).

Expenses for Services to Financial Institutions and
the Public total $884.8 million and account for almost
two-thirds of the Reserve Banks'

1989 budgets.

Expenses are

budgeted to increase 4.3 percent over actual 1988.
Employment is budgeted at 9,049 employees an increase of 16
employees or 0.2 percent over 1988.

Revenue from these

services is expected to offset $704 million of the $885
million.

Commercial check processing is by far the largest
service

($440.1 million),

comprising almost half the

budgeted expenses of this service line and employing 5,478.
Expenses for this service are increasing $11.4 million,

or

2.6 percent over 1988, and the number of staff members will
decrease by nine.

The Banks expect to process 15.4 billion

commercial checks in 1989, an increase of 2.8 percent, while
unit cost is expected to increase 2.2 percent.

Added

expenses of $5.4 million and additional staff of 134 can be
attributed to the full-year effect of the Expedited Funds
Availability Act, which went into effect in September 1988.
Some consolidation of operations and the discontinuance of a

- 16 -

number of temporary employees will offset the budget
increases needed to implement the Expedited Funds
Availability Act.

Expenses for the currency and coin service are
expected to rise $5.4 million, or 3.8 percent.

The number

of employees in this service has been decreased by 10, to
1,717.

Volume is expected to increase 4.2 percent and unit

cost to decline 1.3 percent.

Approximately 17.9 billion

pieces are expected to pass through high speed currency
s o r te r s .

Expenses for the automated clearinghouse service
are expected to increase by $6.0 million in 1989 or 8.9
percent,

and employment is expected to increase by 16.

The

staff is expected to expand primarily to accommodate a
service the System intends to offer in 1989 called
Government Notification of Change.

Requested by the

Treasury this service converts paper documents to electronic
form at the Reserve Banks.

Volume for the ACH service is

expected to increase 14.7 percent and unit cost to decrease
7.2 percent.

Expenses for the funds transfer service are
expected to increase $3.8 million,

or 6.2 percent,

- 17 -

reflecting a staff increase- of two and an increase in volume
of 4.0 percent.

The growth of volume in this service has

slowed because of mergers of bank holding companies and bank
consolidations.

Expenses for the book-entry securities service will
increase $3.8 million,
volume remain flat.

or 14.9 percent, while employment and

Uriit cost is increasing 9.9 percent and

can be attributed to two f actors, increased support costs to
test and maintain the Book-Entry Securities System

(BESS)

and improvements in contingency capabilities.

Expenses for Supervision and Re g u l a t i o n , which
total $201.5 million,

are expected to increase $16.4

million, or 8.9 percent, over 1988.
for 15.1 percent of total expenses,
percent in 1983.

This area now accounts
compared with 12.8

A staff level of 2,250 is budgeted, an

increase of 41, or 1.9 percent, over 1988.

Expenses have

increased at an annual rate of 8.9 percent since 1983 and
staff levels have grown by 395 or 21 percent.

The 1989 increase in costs and employment is the
result of continued growth in the number of bank holding
companies;

increases in the number of de novo banks that,

under Board guidelines,

require more frequent examinations;

- 18 -

the System's enhanced program for examinations of
international operations of U.S. banks and U.S. offices of
foreign banks; and monitoring for compliance with Regulation
CC.

The increase for staff/ spread over most Districts,

moderate compared with that in recent years.

is

Other factors

contributing to the cost increment are a greater emphasis on
monitoring reserve accounts with respect to daylight and
overnight overdrafts,

the full-year effects of the

development of the National Information Center, and the
continued expansion in the use of microcomputers.

Expenses for Services to the U.S. Treasury and
Other Government Agencies are budgeted at $148.4 million, an
increase of $6.8 million, or 4.8 percent,

from 1988.

These

services account for approximately 11 percent of operating
costs.
percent,

Staffing is budgeted to decrease by 14 or 0.8
to 1,805.

Approximately $99 million of the $149

million are reimbursable expenses.

The reduction in employment reflects major efforts
over several years by the Reserve Banks and the Treasury to
promote efficiency, generally through consolidation and
automation of operations.
reductions for 1989.

Most Districts have budgeted

- 19 -

Major operational changes are taking place in the
savings bonds area.

The Ohio Project,

features centralized

issuance of over-the-counter savings bonds.
Payroll program,

The Masterfile

involves accounting for, and printing bonds

purchased through payroll deduction plans.
when fully implemented,

These projects,

are expected to save the Treasury

about $25 million annually.

Expenses for Monetary and Economic Policy at the
Federal Reserve Banks total $95.8 million and account for
approximately 7 percent of their 1989 budgets.
expected to increase $8.5 million,
1988.

Expenses are

or 9.8 percent, over

Employment will increase by 20 or 2.6 percent to 786.

Net additions to the staff,

salary actions,

and

automation initiatives are the main sources of higher
spending.

The 1989 staffing level is slightly lower than

that budgeted for 1988.

A brief review of Reserve Bank expenses on an
object of expense basis also might be useful to the
Subcommittee

(see Table 6) .

Personnel expenses consist of salaries for officers
and employees,

other expenses to compensate personnel,

and

- 20 retirement and other benefits.

The major resource of the

Reserve Banks is their people, and total personnel costs
account for 63 percent of total Federal Reserve expenses.
Personnel costs are expected to increase $40.1 million, or
5.0 percent,

in 1989.

Salaries— the major component of this category— are
budgeted to increase 5.1 percent.

Each Federal Reserve Bank

conducts an annual survey as a starting point for
determining its salary structure for staff members other
than officers.

Nationwide surveys are used to adjust the

structure of officers'

salaries.

All structure adjustments

are approved by the Board of Gove r n o r s .

Merit increases are the primary source of higher
expenses for salaries.

Also contributing are promotions,

reclassifications, and higher levels of staffing.

These

increases are partially offset by position vacancies, by the
replacement of a departing employee with one at lower pay
and by reduced expenses for overtime.

Expenses for retirement and other benefits, which
account for 11 percent of the Banks' budget, are anticipated
to increase 10.9 percent in 1989.

This increase is a result

of the continued escalation in hospital and medical costs, a

-

21

-

rise in the maximum salary subject to Social Security tax,
and increased participation in the System's thrift plan.

Nonpersonnel expenses account for 37 percent of the
Banks'

expenses and are projected to increase 6.0 percent in

1989.

Within this category:

Equipment expenses are 7.7 percent higher for 1989
and will account for 12 percent of total operating costs.
The increase results from the purchase of data processing
and data communications equipment to handle increased
workloads and improve contingency functions,

and the

full-year impact of equipment purchased to meet the demands
of the Expedited Funds Availability Act.

Building expenses, which account for 9 percent of
total expenses,
1989.

are expected to increase 8.5 percent in

Building expansion and renovation projects contribute

to increased expenses for property depreciation,
taxes, utilities,

real estate

and other building operations.

Depreciation expenses will also increase in 1989 as numerous
smaller renovation and repair projects are completed.

Shipping costs account for 6 percent of the 198 9
budget and will increase 2.2 percent next year.

This

-

22

-

increase is primarily the result of expanded check routes
necessary for EFA.

Table 7 depicts the plans of the Reserve Banks for
capital spending in 1989.

By their nature,

vary greatly from year to year.

capital outlays

Outlays for buildings and

for data processing and communications equipment continue to
dominate Reserve Bank capital budgets.

Special Budget Emphasis
Before concluding my testimony I would like to
mention briefly several initiatives that will have a major
impact on Reserve Bank expenditures and operations into the
next decade.

As you may remember,

the Expedited Funds

Availability Act gave the Federal Reserve Board regulatory
authority to improve the check collection and return check
systems.

As a result of the EFA,

the Reserve Banks

implemented a number of new services to expedite the
handling of returned checks.

The Reserve Banks began to

offer the new services to speed the return of unpaid checks
September 1, 1988.

Federal Reserve returned check volumes

have increased approximately 25 percent since the
implementation of the service.

- 23 -

In 1989 the Reserve Banks have budgeted $19.3
million and 348 employees for EFA; these numbers represent
the full-year effect of an increase of $5.4 million and 134
employees over 1988 expenditure and employment levels.
These expenses will be recovered through fees charged to
users.

For 198 9 the Board of Governors has approved
research and development on three projects intended to
provide long-range benefits to the Payments System.

Because

spending on such projects is relatively high and short-term,
the Federal Reserve accounts for it separately from its
operating expenses but includes it in its total budget.

The

budget for Special Projects in 1989 is $11.1 million, or
$6.2 more than was budgeted for Special Projects in 1988.

In mid-1985 the Federal Reserve began research on
digital image capture as it might be applied to check
processing.

The archiving of information on checks written

by the U.S. Treasury and the processing of return items are
the potential applications with the most stringent
r equirements.

The information captured from such checks

must be especially detailed and of high quality and
therefore requires a large capacity for data storage.

These

- 24 -

two check processes were thus selected as the most likely to
determine the feasibility of the technology.
technology is successful,

If the

it could replace the Federal

Reserve's current practice of microfilming government checks
and could speed the handling of return items.

In 1989 the check imaging project, building upon
the first three years of results, will test an imaging
system at two Reserve Banks with high-speed check
processors.

Total 1989 expenses for the project are

estimated to be $1.7 million and will be recovered through
the pricing of services.

The digital image processing technology discussed
above for checks is also under development as a means of
detecting counterfeit U.S. currency.
Counterfeit Detection System

This Optical

(OCDS) program is one of

several programs designed to detect counterfeits that come
into the Federal Reserve.

These Research and Development

efforts are budgeted for $1.7 million in 1989.

A study by the Federal Reserve has indicated that,
to meet the needs of users, the System must extend the
number of hours it provides electronic payments services and
that to better control risk in the payments system,

it must

- 25 -

improve the reliability of these services.

The study also

indicated that users of electronic payments are looking for
more flexibility in the range of services offered as well as
cost-effectiveness.

In 1989 the Federal Reserve will

complete its testing of equipment to satisfy these
requirements.

The Federal Reserve is installing the equipment at
three Reserve Banks and developing software for the
automated clearinghouse service.

The program, budgeted at

$6.1 million for 1989, will also demonstrate the use of
fault-tolerant equipment for the transfer of funds and
securities,

and will be recovered through fees.

Of course

as part of our long-range strategy for improving the
payments mechanism the Federal Reserve System continues to
place emphasis on the quality and reliability of its
electronic payment services.

This strategy involves not

only improving the reliability of Fedwire operations, but
also involves providing contingency processing facilities to
address both non-catastrophic and catastrophic outages.

The Federal Reserve System takes great pride in its
efforts to improve efficiency.

I mentioned earlier that I

would return to the subject of facility planning.

We recog­

nize that facilities impact how well we operate and we are

- 26 -

concerned that we may be unable to construct,

expand, or

modernize Branch Federal Reserve Bank Buildings unless there
is a change in the "building proper"

fund.

As you know from

the information provided to the Subcommittee last year,

the

Federal Reserve at this time is close to depleting its
authorized fund for branch Federal Reserve buildings.
Without relief, we are not able to do the planning and
preparatory work to provide needed improvements for
operations at the following branches:

Branch

Estimated Cost

Birmingham

(in Millions)

$35

Nashville

30

Houston

15

San Antonio

10

El Paso

10

Salt Lake City

10

As you may realize, branch operations consist mainly of
priced service operations and a significant portion of the
capital cost of the facilities would be recovered through
revenues from the sale of Federal Reserve services.

With a

normal planning and building horizon of about 5 years, we
are in jeopardy of being unable to provide services to the
financial community and the public.

- 27 -

We recommend to the Subcommittee that the
limitation on branch construction expenditures be
eliminated.

Conclusion

Both Governor Kelley and I thank you for this
opportunity to address the Subcommittee on the Federal
Reserve System budget.

The existing budget processes are

working well in controlling costs, while at the same time
encouraging quality improvements.

We welcome your comments

and would be pleased to address any questions you may have
on our budget.

Table 1

Operating Expenses of the Federal Reserve System, Net of Receipts 1987-89
Millions of dollars, except as noted

1987

1988

1989
Budget

Item

Total System operating
expenses.............
Less:
Revenge from priced
services
Other income
Reimbursements
EQUALS
Het System operating
expense

Change
1987-88
Amount

Change
1988-89
Amount

1,278

1,353

1,427

75

5.9

74

5.5

650
15
109

667
16
116

704
17
109

17
1
7

2.6
6.7
6.4

37
1
-7

5.5
6.3
-6.0

504

554

597

50

9.9

43

7.8

Table 2

Federal Reserve System Expenses, and Employment, 1978-89 Budget1/
Millions of dollars

Expenses_____
Percent
Amount
Change

______ Personnel_____
Percent
Change
Amount

1978
1979

703
747

4,7
6.2

24,948
24,551

(3.2)
(1.6)'

1980
1981
1982

852
948
1,041

14.1
11.3
9.8

25,198
25,480
24,755

2.6
1.1
(2.8)

1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988

1,100
1,145
1,199
1,245
1,278
1,353

5.7
4.0
4.8
3.8
2.7
5.9

24,466
24,257
24,609
24,721
24,483
24,832

(1.2)
(0.9)
1.5
0.5
(1.0)
1.4

1989 Budget

1,427

5.5

24,936

0.4

Growth Rate
1978-88
1I

6.8

(0.1)

Includes expenses and personnel of both the Reserve Banks and the Board
of Governors

Table 3
Federal Reserve Bank Employment by Service Li nel/

Monetary
and
Economic
Policy

Year

Services
to the U.S.
Treasury and
Gov't Agencies

Services
to
Financial
Institutions

Supervision
and
Regulation

Support

Overhead

Total

Percent
Change

1378
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988

610
597
618
717
743
804
826
816
791
775
766

2,087
1,883
1,946
1,881
1,851
1,838
1,798
1,781
1,819
1,836
1,819

9,682
9,790
9,614
9,480
8,566
8,424
8,395
8,754
8,799
8,775
9,033

1,337
1,411
1,589
1,733
1,796
1,862
1,885
1,912
2,087
2,147
2,209

4,146
4,055
4,238
4,434
4,599
4,367
4,340
4,398
4,469
4,452
4,562

5,616
5,367
5,680
5,745
5,676
5,589
5,424
5,323
5,274
5,024
4,952

23,479
23,104
23,682
23,989
23,230
22,883
22,669
22,984
23,239
23,010
23,337

-1.6%
2.5%
1.3%
-3.2%
-1.5%
-0.9%
1.4%
1.1%
-1.0%
1.4%

1989 Budget

786

1,805

9,049

2,250

4,597

4,954

23,441

0.4%

Growth Rate
1978-88

2.3%

-1.4%

-0.7%

5.1%

1.0%

-1.3%

-0.1%

Recent Year
1987-88

-1.2%

-0.9%

2.9%

2.9%

2.5%

-1.4%

1.4%

Budget Year
1988-89

2.6%

-0.8%

0.2%

1.9%

D.8%

0.0%

0.4%

U

Does not include Board staff.

See chart

k for

Board trend in employment.

Table 4

Increase in the Operating Expenses of the Reserve Banks, Excluding the
Increases from Major Initiatives, 1988-89
Thousands of dollars, except as noted

Expense item

Operating expenses
1988 actuall/
1989 budget
Increase, 1988 to 1989
Thousands of dollars
Percent

Amount

1,260,245
1,330,487

70,242
5.6

Less
Major 1989 intiatives:
Automation
Facility improvements
Increased supervisory and
regulatory activities
Programs for the U.S. Treasury
Contingency back-up
Improved check operations
National Information Center
Electronic payments system
Total

3,130
2,214
1,834
1,541
1,162
1,115
26,429

Equals
Increase excluding major 1989 initiatives
Thousands of dollars
Percent

43,813
3.5

1/

9,770
5,663

Excludes one-time expenses of $2,134,000 for improvements to facilities.

Table 5
Operating Expenses of the Federal Reserve Banks, by Operational Area 1987-89
Thousands of dollars, except as noted

Change
1987-88
Amount

Change
1988-89
Amount

1987

1988

86,484

87,283

95,812

799

0.9

8,529

9.8

170,428

185,090

201,539

14,662

8.6

16,449

8.9

799,227

848,481

884,784

49,254

6.2

36,303

4.3

135,693

141,524

148,352

5,831

4.3

6,828

4.8

1,191,832

1,262,379

1,330,487

70,547

5.9

68,108

5.4

Operational Area 1/

1989
Budget

Monetary and Economic
Supervision and
Services to Financial
Institutions and
Services to the U.S.
Treasury and Other
Government Agencies..
TOTAL

1/ Including the cost of support and overhead services.

Employment at the Federal Reserve Banks, by Activity, 1987--89
Average number of personnel, except as noted

1987

1988

Operational Area

1989
Budget

Change
1987-88
Amount

Change
1988-89
Amount

Monetary and Economic
775

766

786

-9

-1.2

20

2.6

2,147

2,209

2,250

62

2.9

41

1.9

8,775

9,033

9,049

258

2.9

16

0.2

1,836

1,819

1,805

-17

-0.9

-14

-0.8

4,452
5,024

4,562
4,952

4,597
4,954

110
-72

2.5
-1.4

35
2

0.8
0.0

23,010

23,337

23,441

327

1.4

104

0.4

Supervision and
Services to Financial
Institutions and
Services to the U.S.
Treasury and Other
Government Agencies..
Support and overhead:
Overhead..............
Total

Table 6
Operating Expenses of the Federal Reserve Banks, by Object, 1987-89
Thousands of dollars, except as noted

1987

1988

1989
Budget

Personnel

743,168

794,506

834,626

51,338

6.9

40,120

5.0

Equipment

156,820

153,809

165,616

-3,011

-1.9

11,807

7.7

Building

107,381

115,877

125,687

8,496

7.9

9,810

8.5

Shipping

81,350

81,969

83,811

619

1.0

1,842

2.2

Supplies

47,282

51,049

51,077

3,767

8.0

28

0.1

Travel

22,155

25,263

25,466

3,108

14.0

203

0.8

Communications

12,291

11,898

12,009

-393

-3.2

111

0.9

Fees

11,357

10,985

12,652

-372

-3.3

1,667

15.2

Other

10,029

17,023

19,544

6,994

69.7

2,521

14.8

448,665

467,873

495,861

19,208

4.3

27,988

6.0

1,191,833 1,262,379

1,330,487

70,546

5.9

68,108

5.4

Object

Subtotal
Nonpersonnel

TOTAL

Change
1987-88
Amount

Change
1988-89
Amount

Table 7
Capital Outlays of the Federal Reserve Banks, by Class of Outlay, 1987-89
Thousands of dollars, except as noted

1987

1988

1989
Budget

Change
1987-88
Amount

45,162

78,048

87,638

32,886

72.8

9,590

12.3

22,394
1,759
58,715

23,733
368
55,165

30,237
34,419
56,964

1,339
-1,391
-3,550

6.0
-79.1
-6.0

6,504
34,051
1,799

27.4
3.3

6,163
4,121

7,574
2,256

13,311
9,105

1,411
-1,865

22.9
-45.3

5,737
6,849

75.7
303.6

138,314

167,144

231,673

28,830

20.8

64,529

38.6

Capital class

Data processing and data
communications equipment
Furniture and other
equipment
Land and other real estate
Buildings
Building machinery and
equipment
Leasehold improvements
Total

Change
1988-89
Amount

Chart 1

Federai Reserve System Expenses
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1

(Billions)

0.1

0.9
0.8

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1/ Deflated by GNP Deflator (1978 = 100)

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989 Budget

Chart 2

Trends in Volume, Unit Cost, and Employment
All measured Functions 1977 — 1988