about the fomc
The term “monetary policy” refers to actions undertaken by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve, to influence the availability and cost of money and credit to help promote national economic goals. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve responsibility for setting monetary policy.
The Federal Reserve controls the three tools of monetary policy: open market operations, the discount rate, and reserve requirements. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is responsible for the discount rate and reserve requirements, and the Federal Open Market Committee is responsible for open market operations. Using all three tools, the Federal Reserve influences the demand for and supply of balances depository institutions hold at Federal Reserve Banks, thereby altering the Federal Funds rate. The Federal Funds Rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions lend balances in the Federal Reserve to other depository institutions overnight.
changes in the fed funds rate trigger a chain of events that affect other short-term interest rates, exchange rates, long-term interest rates, the quantity of money and credit, and ultimately a range of economic variables, including employment, production, and the prices of goods and services.
fomc structure
the federal open market committee (fomc) consists of twelve members: the seven members of the board of governors of the federal reserve system; the president of the federal reserve bank of new york; and four of the eleven remaining reserve bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis. Rotating positions cover the following four bank groups, one bank president from each group: Boston, Philadelphia and Richmond; cleveland and chicago; atlanta, louis and dallas streets; and minneapolis, kansas city and san francisco. non-voting reserve bank presidents attend committee meetings, participate in discussions, and contribute to the committee’s evaluation of economic and policy options.
the fomc holds eight regularly scheduled meetings a year. At these meetings, the committee reviews economic and financial conditions, determines the appropriate monetary policy stance, and assesses risks to its long-term goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth.
for more details on the fomc and monetary policy, see section 2 of the booklet on the structure of the federal reserve system and chapter 2 of purposes & Functions of the Federal Reserve System. fomc rules and clearances are also available online.
members of the 2022 committee
- jeronimo h. powell, board of governors, president
- john c. williams, new york, vice president
- miguel s. barr, board of governors
- michelle w. goalkeeper, board of governors
- lael brainard, board of governors
- james bullard, st. louis
- susana m. collins, boston
- lisa d. cook, board of governors
- esther l. George, Kansas City
- philip n. jefferson, board of governors
- loreta j. mester, cleveland
- Christopher J. waller, board of governors
- carlos l. evans, chicago
- patrick haker, philadelphia
- neel kashkari, minneapolis
- lorie k. logan, dallas
- helena e. mucciolo, acting first vice president, new york
alternate members
rotation of the federal reserve bank in the fomc
Committee member changes at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the year.
†for the federal reserve bank of new york, the first vice president is the alternate president. return to the table
For additional information, please use the fomc foia request form.
