Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States and debatably the most powerful financial institution in the world. The Federal Reserve System was instituted by the U.S. Congress in 1913 to deliver the nation with a innocuous, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system. It is founded on a federal system that encompasses a central governmental agency (the Board of Governors) in Washington, D.C., and 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks that are each accountable for an exact geographic area of the U.S. The Federal Reserve is considered to be independent because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the president or any other government official. However, it is still subject to Congressional oversight and must work within the framework of the government’s economic and financial policy objectives. Often known simply as “the Fed." The Federal Reserve’s creation was precipitated by repeated financial panics that afflicted the U.S. economy o...