CENTRAL BANK MAKES U.S. MONEY POLICY

Is there gold in the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis vault?

How many checks clear the bank daily?

Where do counterfeit bills go?

How much money is shredded daily?

These might be trivia questions about the Federal Reserve System of the United States, but the federal central banking system isn't trivial. It has been an important link to the nation's banking industry during the past 65 years.

Congress created the Federal Reserve System in 1912 to fix the recurring banking crisis. The system went into effect a year later.

In its most basic terms the Federal Reserve System is the nation's central bank. It is an independent agency.

Prior to the founding of the system, which includes a dozen districts across the nation, the country was plagued with financial crises, which at times led to panics, with people withdrawing their money from banks.

The Federal Reserve Act of 1912, was created to address these banking panics, and since, has been charged with a number of broader responsibilities, including fostering a sound banking system and a healthy economy.

The No. 1 goal of the Federal Reserve is to control inflation by making sound economic decisions in adjusting the discount interest rates charged depository institutions when they borrow money, said William Poole, president and chief executive officer of the 8th District Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Poole was in Cape Girardeau last week to discuss economic conditions with area business leaders and to talk about the banking system.

One of the roles of the Federal Reserve system, Poole said, is to guide the nation's monetary supply through controlling interest rates for money to the nation's banks.

Over the last year and a half, the interest rate has gone from 5.5 percent in February 1998 to 4.75 percent.

The interest rate is based on information the Fed receives from meetings like the one in Cape Girardeau last week. Each district holds meetings to gather input on economic research.

But, just what is the Federal Reserve System?

In a nutshell, the Federal Reserve's structure is composed of the Board of Governors in Washington and 12 regional reserve bank districts. The Board of Governors consists of seven members appointed to 14-year terms by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Missouri is headquarters to two of the 12 Federal Reserve districts -- at St. Louis and Kansas City.

Other Reserve Banks are in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland Dallas, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond and San Francisco. There are also 25 branches and offices within the 12 districts.

In the 8th District, reserve branches are at Memphis, Tenn., Louisville, Ky., and Little Rock, Ark. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis serves all of Arkansas, eastern Missouri, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, Southern Illinois, southern Indiana and northern Mississippi.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis District employs 1,244 workers, 828 of them at the St. Louis office, 411 Locust St. Branch offices and number of employees are: Little Rock, 132; Louisville, 152; and Memphis, 132.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis issues, transfers and redeems government securities, provides currency and coins, processes and clears checks, transfers funds and supervises financial institutions through the district, which has 638 bank holding companies and 71 state member banks.

There is no gold at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said Charles B. Henderson, media relations spokesman. Some gold is kept at the New York Reserve Bank, but most of the nation's gold is kept at Fort Knox, Ky.

More than 1.4 million checks a day clear the St. Louis district and about 372,000 money notes are shredded daily.

The St. Louis Reserve Bank processes 850,000 money orders daily.

Counterfeit money? It goes to the Secret Service.