FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Definition

Bookmark and Share

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (The Fed) is the central bank of the United States created by Congress, consisting of a seven-member Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks and depository institutions that are subject to reserve requirements. All national banks are members; state-chartered banks may elect to become members and state members are supervised by the Board of Governors and the Reserve Banks. Reserve requirements established by the Fed apply to nonmember depository institutions as well as member banks. Both classes of institutions share equal access to Federal Reserve discount borrowing privileges and Federal Reserve services.

Learn new Accounting Terms

CONTANGO is the commission paid by a buyer for the postponement of a transaction on a stock exchange when prices for future delivery are higher than those for cash or spot transactions. The opposite is backwardation.

DAC, in accounting, is an acronym for Deferred Acquisition Costs.

Suggest a Term

Enter Search Term

Enter a term, then click the entry you would like to view.