From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 41°52′43″N 87°37′54″W / 41.878484°N 87.631567°W / 41.878484; -87.631567

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is located at the corner of LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard in the city's financial district.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (informally the Chicago Fed) is one of twelve regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation's central bank.

The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the state of Iowa.

In addition to participation in the formulation of monetary policy, each Reserve Bank supervises member banks and bank holding companies, provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government, and monitors economic conditions in its District.

Responsibilities

As one of the Reserve Banks that make up the Federal Reserve System, the Chicago Fed is responsible for:

• Helping to formulate national monetary policy. The Chicago Fed's CEO, Charles L. Evans, helps formulate monetary policy by taking part in meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
• Providing financial services such as check clearing and electronic payment processing. Each day the Chicago Fed processes millions of payments in the form of both paper checks and electronic transfers. These services are offered to institutions in the Seventh District on a fee basis. The Chicago Fed will cease processing paper checks on November 17, 2009. ^[1] Checks previously routed to this facility will be routed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Clevland.
• Supervising and regulating state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System, bank holding companies, and financial holding companies. These organizations are located within the Seventh Federal Reserve District.

Leadership

Charles L. Evans is the president of the Chicago Fed. He took office on 1 September 2007 as the ninth president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Gordon Werkema is first vice president and chief operating officer of the Chicago Fed and product director of the Federal Reserve System's National Customer Relations and Support Office.

Money Museum

The Money Museum traces the history of the Federal Reserve Bank and also displays currency used in the past.

The Bank's Money Museum ^[2]is free and open to the public year-round from 9am to 4pm, Monday through Friday, except on Bank holidays. All visitors must show a photo identification, walk through a metal detector and have their bags x-rayed before entering the Money Museum. No food or drink are allowed in the museum.

Guided tours lasting roughly 45 minutes are available at 1pm on Monday through Friday, or by appointment. You can also visit the Money Museum on your own at any time during open hours.

The museum includes a free kiosk, which takes your picture in front of a million dollars in $100 bills. Also, a million dollars in ones as well as twenties is on display. The museum has been known for giving out bags of shredded money as souvenirs.

Branches

There is a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in Detroit, Michigan. There is also a regional check processing center near Chicago's Midway International Airport.

References

• Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

External links

• More about the Chicago Fed
• Money Museum
• Chicago Fed President Charles L. Evans' bio