October 10, 2024

Uncategorized

Fed

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement monetary policy of the United States. Governors are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate for staggered 14-year terms. By law, the appointments must yield a “fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests and geographical divisions of the country”. As stipulated in the Banking Act of 1935, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board are two of seven members of the Board of Governors who are appointed by the President from among the sitting Governors. The Board of Governors does not receive funding from Congress, and the terms of the seven members of the Board span multiple presidential and congressional terms. Once a member of the Board of Governors is appointed by the president, he or she functions mostly independently. The Board is required to make an annual report of operations to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. It also supervises and regulates the operations of the Federal Reserve Banks, and the U.S. banking system in general. Membership is by statute limited in term, and a member that has served for a full 14 year term is not eligible for reappointment. There are numerous occasions where an individual was appointed to serve the remainder of another member’s uncompleted term, and has been reappointed to serve a full 14-year term. Since “upon the expiration of their terms of office, members of the Board shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed and have qualified”, it is possible for a member to serve for significantly longer than a full term of 14 years. The law provides for the removal of a member of the Board by the President “for cause”. Thus, once appointed to fill an unexpired term, the person could serve (hypothetically) for 13 years and eleven months prior to re-appointment. Then an additional 14 years would bring the total to almost 28 years. If no person is immediately approved to hold the post, that person could remain on the board indefinitely…if no other person is approved to hold that particular slot. Originally, all members were to have overlapping terms from differing presidents. All current members of the Board of Governors have been appointed by Barack Obama. The current members of the Board of Governors are as follows: Committee on Board Affairs Governor Powell, Chairman Vice Chairman Fischer Committee on Consumer and Community Affairs Governor Brainard, Chair Governor Tarullo Committee on Economic and Financial Monitoring and Research Vice Chairman Fischer, Chairman Governor Brainard Committee on Financial Stability Vice Chairman Fischer, Chairman Governor Tarullo Governor Brainard Committee on Federal Reserve Bank Affairs Governor Powell, Chairman Governor Brainard Committee on Bank Supervision Governor Tarullo, Chairman Governor Powell Governor Brainard Subcommittee on Smaller Regional and Community Banking Governor Powell, Chairman Governor Brainard Committee on Payments, Clearing, and Settlement Governor Powell, Chairman Governor Tarullo Source: http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/bios/board/default.htm

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