Each February, our country celebrates Presidents Day to pay tribute to U.S. presidents. In honor of the holiday, this edition of Fed Facts will help you get to know our 12 Federal Reserve Bank presidents and the role they play.
What is the role of a Federal Reserve Bank president?
Under the Federal Reserve Act (Off-site), the president of a Federal Reserve Bank is the chief executive officer of the Bank. The president is responsible for all of the Reserve Bank’s activities, including monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and payments services. In addition, the president serves on the Federal Reserve’s chief monetary policymaking body, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC (Off-site) is made up of 12 voting members (the seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and four of the 11 other Reserve Bank presidents).
Who are the current Federal Reserve Bank presidents?
Our current Federal Reserve Bank presidents come from a variety of backgrounds. Keep reading to learn more about them and the roles they held before they took office.
- Eric S. Rosengren (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on July 23, 2007. He previously held senior positions within the Federal Reserve in both the research and bank supervision functions. He joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 1985 as an economist in the Research Department.
- John C. Williams (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on June 18, 2018. He was previously the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Prior to that, he was the executive vice president and director of research for the San Francisco Fed.
- Patrick T. Harker (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on July 1, 2015. Before this role, he served as the 26th president of the University of Delaware. He was also a professor of both business administration and civil and environmental engineering.
- Loretta J. Mester (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on July 1, 2014. She had previously served as executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. She joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in 1985.
- Thomas I. Barkin (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on January 1, 2018. He was previously a senior partner and the chief risk officer at McKinsey & Company, a worldwide management consulting firm, and had served as the organization's chief financial officer.
- Raphael W. Bostic (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta on June 5, 2017. From 2012 to 2017, he served as the Judith and John Bedrosian Chair in Governance and the Public Enterprise at the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy.
- Charles L. Evans (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on September 1, 2007. Before becoming president, he was director of research and a senior vice president at the Chicago Fed. He joined the Chicago Fed in 1991 after serving as an assistant professor of economics at the University of South Carolina.
- James Bullard (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on April 1, 2008. Prior to becoming president, he was vice president and deputy director of research for monetary analysis at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He joined the Bank in 1990 as an economist in the Research Division.
- Neel Kashkari (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis on January 1, 2016. Before taking office at the Minneapolis Fed, he was managing director and member of the executive office at PIMCO. In 2014, he was a candidate for governor of California.
- Esther L. George (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on October 1, 2011. She joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1982 and served much of her career in the Division of Supervision and Risk Management.
- Robert S. Kaplan (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas on September 8, 2015. He was previously the Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration and a senior associate dean at Harvard Business School.
- Mary C. Daly (Off-site) took office as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on October 1, 2018. Prior to this role, she served as the Bank’s executive vice president and Director of Research. She has also served on the advisory boards of the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security Administration, the Office of Rehabilitation Research and Training, the Institute of Medicine and the Library of Congress.
SOURCES:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System website (Off-site)
