
William McChesney Martin, who served just shy of 19 years, from 1951 until 1970, was the longest tenured Fed chair, with Alan Greenspan close behind, serving roughly 18.5 years from 1987 through 2006.Īlongside the Board of Governors there are twelve regional Federal Reserve banks:Įach of the 12 reserve banks is responsible for a particular geographic region, or district. However, chairs are often re-nominated and re-confirmed. While governors serve 14-year terms (staggered every two years, though in practice governors often don't serve this long), chairmanship terms are four years long.

Bush administration official.Īlongside the chair there is a vice chair (Yellen's job before she became chair, currently vacant) and five other members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (now two of these five seats are vacant, and a third one will be soon when Jeremy Stein's already announced resignation takes effect). That's Janet Yellen right now, but for most of the crisis years, the person in charge was Ben Bernanke, a former Princeton professor and George W. But the most important figure in Fed decision-making is the chair. The Federal Reserve system has a complicated governance structure, arising for a mix of historical and political reasons over the course of several decades. As a result, the central bank found itself charged with both excessive complacency and excessive activism.

Targeted assistance to ailing financial institutions.It's been in the public eye as never before, and been subjected to an unprecedented level of political criticism.
WHEN THE FED WANTS TO LOWER THE FEDERAL FUNDS RATE IT PLUS
In its war on the crisis, the Fed has deployed a wide range of tools including the traditional tricks of monetary policy plus a range of unconventional measures. Consequently, starting in 2008 and continuing for several subsequent years, the Fed was on the front lines of combating interconnected crises in the banking system and the real economy.

It is also one of several institutions charged with regulating banks and ensuring the stability of the financial system. The Federal Reserve System - America's central bank - is the main policymaking institution charged with fighting recessions. What did the Federal Reserve do during the financial crisis
