The structure and the role of the Federal Reserve Bank Term Paper

The structure and the role of the Federal Reserve Bank - Term Paper Example These banks are located in different cities of the United States of America, which include New York, Richmond, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. â€Å"These branch banks retain reserves of currency, and each bank has its own President and board† (Smith, n.d.). The Board of Governors has also established 25 branches of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks in order to support the business activities of the Federal Reserve Banks. For each bank, there is a nine-member board of directors, which manages and controls the business activities of the Federal Reserve Bank. The members of the boards serve their respective banks for the period of three years. The Board of Federal Reserve selects three members of each board, also known as the Directors, whereas remaining six members are selected by the local member banks working in their respective districts. The members of each board are divided into three classes which are A, B, and C. Class C directors are selected by the board of governors whereas class A and Class B directors are selected by the commercial banks (Smale, 2005). The Board of Governors is the most powerful part of the Federal Reserve System. The board of Governors consists of seven members of the board and a chairperson. The President appoints the members of the board for a period of fourteen years whereas the chairperson serves a four-year contract. The Federal Open Market Committee is the third subgroup of the Federal Reserve System. It is a 12-members committee, which includes four presidents of the regional Federal Reserve Banks, the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and the seven members of the Board of Governors. The basic role of the Federal Open Market Committee is to make the decisions regarding changes in the