# Federal Reserve System

> The Federal Reserve System is the U.S. central bank: a Board of Governors, twelve regional Reserve Banks, and a monetary policy committee. It influences interest rates, supervises certain financial institutions, supplies banking and payment infrastructure, and publishes economic research. Its public mandate, rather than commercial growth, governs its work.

- **Founded:** 1913
- **Headquarters:** Washington, United States
- **Founders:** United States Congress (Created the System through the Federal Reserve Act), Woodrow Wilson (President who signed the Federal Reserve Act), Carter Glass (Co-sponsor and legislative architect), Robert L. Owen (Co-sponsor and legislative architect)
- **Products:** Monetary policy, FedNow Service, Fedwire Funds Service, FedACH Services, FedCash Services
- **Notable:** Congress created the System on December 23, 1913, following a banking-reform movement accelerated by the Panic of 1907., Built a nationwide structure with twelve regional Reserve Banks., Launched FedNow on July 20, 2023, adding round-the-clock instant payment infrastructure.

## Products & services

- **Monetary policy** — FOMC decisions and policy implementation influence interest rates and credit conditions.
- **FedNow Service** — Round-the-clock instant interbank payment clearing and settlement for participating eligible depository institutions.
- **Fedwire Funds Service** — Real-time gross settlement of transfers for participating institutions.
- **FedACH Services** — Automated clearinghouse processing for participating financial institutions.
- **FedCash Services** — Currency and coin distribution and processing for financial institutions.
- **Discount window** — Collateralized lending to eligible depository institutions to support liquidity.
- **Bank supervision and regulation** — Examination and oversight of financial institutions within the Fed’s statutory jurisdiction.
- **FRED and the Beige Book** — Public economic data from the St. Louis Fed and qualitative regional economic reporting across the System.

## Achievements

- Congress created the System on December 23, 1913, following a banking-reform movement accelerated by the Panic of 1907.
- Built a nationwide structure with twelve regional Reserve Banks.
- Launched FedNow on July 20, 2023, adding round-the-clock instant payment infrastructure.
- FedNow participation exceeded 1,500 institutions across all 50 states in the December 2025 FRFS update.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — The Federal Reserve published its October 14 Beige Book, collecting economic observations across the twelve districts.
- **2026-09** — The September 16 FOMC statement raised the federal funds target range by 0.25 percentage point to 3.75-4.00 percent.
- **2026-03** — Audited 2025 Reserve Bank financial statements reported an $18.761 billion net loss before Treasury remittances.
- **2026-01** — FedNow’s 2026 fee schedule took effect, waiving the general participation fee and discounting up to 2,500 originated customer credit transfers per month.
- **2025-12** — FRFS reported more than 1,500 FedNow participants and announced 2026 fees and payment-system enhancements.

## Links

- Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/federal-reserve-system
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/federalreserve
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/federalreserve
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/federalreserve.gov
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/federalreserveboard/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/federalreserve

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Last updated: 2026-10-15