A publication of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System This book is available in Adobe Acrobat format, as a complete publication or by chapter. Obtaining the Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Web Site Purposes and Functions, complete publication (1 MB PDF)

Overview of the Federal Reserve System (260K PDF)

Background
Structure of the System
Board of Governors
Federal Reserve Banks
Federal Open Market Committee
Member Banks
Advisory Committees

Monetary Policy and the Economy (171K PDF)

Goals of Monetary Policy
Monetary Policy and the Reserves Market
Demand for Reserves
Supply of Reserves
Trading of Reserves
Effects of Monetary Policy on the Economy
Limitations of Monetary Policy
Guides for Monetary Policy
Monetary and Credit Aggregates
Short- and Long-term Interest Rates
Foreign Exchange Rates
Conclusion

The Implementation of Monetary Policy (171K PDF)

Operational Approaches
Open Market Operations
Other Factors Influencing Nonborrowed Reserves
Techniques of Open Market Operations
A Typical Day in the Conduct of Open Market Operations
The Discount Window
Interest Rates
Borrowing Eligibility
Borrowing Procedures
Types of Credit
Reserve Requirements
Structure of Reserve Requirements
Relation to Open Market Operations
Changes in Required Reserve Ratios

The Federal Reserve in the International Sphere (64K PDF)

International Linkages
Foreign Currency Operations
Swap Network
Exchange Market Intervention
Other U.S. Foreign Currency Resources
International Banking

Supervision and Regulation (73K PDF)

Supervisory Functions
Domestic Operations of U.S. Banking Organizations
International Operations of U.S. Banking Organizations
U.S. Activities of Foreign Banking Organizations
Regulatory Functions
Acquisitions and Mergers
Other Regulatory Responsibilities

Consumer and Community Affairs (60K PDF)

Consumer Protection
Writing and Interpreting Regulations
Enforcing Consumer-Protection Laws
Consumer Complaint Program
Community Affairs

Reserve Bank Services (139K PDF)

The Federal Reserve and the Payments System
Cash Services: Currency and Coin
Noncash-Transaction Services
Net Settlement Services
Other Federal Reserve Bank Services
Fiscal Agency Functions
International Services

Appendixes (148K PDF)

A. Federal Reserve Balance Sheet and Reserve Equation
B. Federal Reserve Regulations
C. Glossary of Terms
D. Selected Readings

Index (32K PDF)

Purposes and Functions, complete publication (1 MB PDF)

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