ECONOMICS (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -As shown in the map below, the System has 12 regional banks that are named after the city in which the bank’s head office is located. The banks are overseen by the Fed’s Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Reserve Banks are decentralized by design and are located in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco.

Detailed explanation-3: -Instead, they provided for a central banking “system” with three salient features: (1) a central governing Board, (2) a decentralized operating structure of 12 Reserve Banks, and (3) a combination of public and private characteristics.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Federal Reserve System is not “owned” by anyone. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act to serve as the nation’s central bank. The Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., is an agency of the federal government and reports to and is directly accountable to the Congress.

Detailed explanation-5: -Under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, each of the 12 regional reserve banks of the Federal Reserve System is owned by its member banks, who originally ponied up the capital to keep them running.