The visit of the Federal Reserve Bank

This Friday, we went to the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston, which is one of the twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks together divide the nation into twelve Federal Reserve Districts. During the visit of the Bank, we were provided a presentation by one of the officers of the Bank. According to the book The Federal Reserve System Purposes and Functions, the Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States. "It was founded by Congress in 1913 to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. However, over the years, its role in banking and the economy has expanded."

The Federal Reserve Bank issues but not prints money and money is not backed by gold or silver. And the Federal Reserve Bank is independent within the government, and it is self-financed and therefore is not subject to the congressional budgetary process. The responsibilities of the Federal Reserve Bank are Monetary Policy, Payment System and Bank Regulation and Supervison. From the Internet, Monetary policy is made by the Federal Open Market Committee, which consists of the members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and five Reserve Bank presidents. And the Federal Reserve Banks offers a wide range of payment services to banks and other depository institutions. These services include distributing and receiving the nation's currency and coin, collecting checks, and electronically transferring funds among banks.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/