TITLE 12 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER II - BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 USC 241 - Creation; membership; compensation and expenses

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (hereinafter referred to as the Board) shall be composed of seven members, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, after August 23, 1935, for terms of fourteen years except as hereinafter provided, but each appointive member of the Federal Reserve Board in office on such date shall continue to serve as a member of the Board until February 1, 1936, and the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency shall continue to serve as members of the Board until February 1, 1936. In selecting the members of the Board, not more than one of whom shall be selected from any one Federal Reserve district, the President shall have due regard to a fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests, and geographical divisions of the country. The members of the Board shall devote their entire time to the business of the Board and shall each receive basic compensation at the rate of $15,000 per annum, payable monthly, together with actual necessary traveling expenses.

12 USC 242 - Ineligibility to hold office in member banks; qualifications and terms of office of members; chairman and vice chairman; oath of office

The members of the Board shall be ineligible during the time they are in office and for two years thereafter to hold any office, position, or employment in any member bank, except that this restriction shall not apply to a member who has served the full term for which he was appointed. Upon the expiration of the term of any appointive member of the Federal Reserve Board in office on August 23, 1935, the President shall fix the term of the successor to such member at not to exceed fourteen years, as designated by the President at the time of nomination, but in such manner as to provide for the expiration of the term of not more than one member in any two-year period, and thereafter each member shall hold office for a term of fourteen years from the expiration of the term of his predecessor, unless sooner removed for cause by the President. Of the persons thus appointed, one shall be designated by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve as Chairman of the Board for a term of four years, and one shall be designated by the President, by and with the consent of the Senate, to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board for a term of four years. The Chairman of the Board, subject to its supervision, shall be its active executive officer. Each member of the Board shall within fifteen days after notice of appointment make and subscribe to the oath of office. Upon the expiration of their terms of office, members of the Board shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed and have qualified. Any person appointed as a member of the Board after August 23, 1935, shall not be eligible for reappointment as such member after he shall have served a full term of fourteen years.

12 USC 243 - Assessments upon Federal reserve banks to pay expenses

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall have power to levy semiannually upon the Federal reserve banks, in proportion to their capital stock and surplus, an assessment sufficient to pay its estimated expenses and the salaries of its members and employees for the half year succeeding the levying of such assessment, together with any deficit carried forward from the preceding half year and such assessments may include amounts sufficient to provide for the acquisition by the Board in its own name of such site or building in the District of Columbia as in its judgement alone shall be necessary for the purpose of providing suitable and adequate quarters for the performance of its functions. After September 1, 2000, the Board may also use such assessments to acquire, in its own name, a site or building (in addition to the facilities existing on such date) to provide for the performance of the functions of the Board. After approving such plans, estimates, and specifications as it shall have caused to be prepared, the Board may, notwithstanding any other provision of law, cause to be constructed on any site so acquired by it a building or buildings suitable and adequate in its judgement for its purposes and proceed to take all such steps as it may deem necessary or appropriate in connection with the construction, equipment, and furnishing of such building or buildings. The Board may maintain, enlarge, or remodel any building or buildings so acquired or constructed and shall have sole control of such building or buildings and space therein.

12 USC 244 - Principal offices of Board; chairman of Board; obligations and expenses; qualifications of members; vacancies

The principal offices of the Board shall be in the District of Columbia. At meetings of the Board the chairman shall preside, and, in his absence, the vice chairman shall preside. In the absence of the chairman and the vice chairman, the Board shall elect a member to act as chairman pro tempore. The Board shall determine and prescribe the manner in which its obligations shall be incurred and its disbursements and expenses allowed and paid, and may leave on deposit in the Federal Reserve banks the proceeds of assessments levied upon them to defray its estimated expenses and the salaries of its members and employees, whose employment, compensation, leave, and expenses shall be governed solely by the provisions of this chapter and rules and regulations of the Board not inconsistent therewith; and funds derived from such assessments shall not be construed to be Government funds or appropriated moneys. No member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be an officer or director of any bank, banking institution, trust company, or Federal Reserve bank or hold stock in any bank, banking institution, or trust company; and before entering upon his duties as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System he shall certify under oath that he has complied with this requirement, and such certification shall be filed with the secretary of the Board. Whenever a vacancy shall occur, other than by expiration of term, among the seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System appointed by the President as above provided, a successor shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to fill such vacancy, and when appointed he shall hold office for the unexpired term of his predecessor.

12 USC 245 - Vacancies during recess of Senate

The President shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System during the recess of the Senate by granting commissions which shall expire with the next session of the Senate.

12 USC 246 - Powers of Secretary of the Treasury as affected by chapter

Nothing in this chapter contained shall be construed as taking away any powers heretofore vested by law in the Secretary of the Treasury which relate to the supervision, management, and control of the Treasury Department and bureaus under such department, and wherever any power vested by this chapter in the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal reserve agent appears to conflict with the powers of the Secretary of the Treasury, such powers shall be exercised subject to the supervision and control of the Secretary.

12 USC 247 - Reports to Congress

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall annually make a full report of its operations to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall cause the same to be printed for the information of the Congress. The report required under this paragraph shall include the reports required under section 1691f of title 15, section 57a (f)(7) of title 15, section 1613 of title 15, and section 247a of this title.

12 USC 247a - Records of action on policy relating to open-market operation and policies determined generally; inclusion in report to Congress

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall keep a complete record of the action taken by the Board and by the Federal Open Market Committee upon all questions of policy relating to open-market operations and shall record therein the votes taken in connection with the determination of open-market policies and the reasons underlying the action of the Board and the Committee in each instance. The Board shall keep a similar record with respect to all questions of policy determined by the Board, and shall include in its annual report to the Congress a full account of the action so taken during the preceding year with respect to open-market policies and operations and with respect to the policies determined by it and shall include in such report a copy of the records required to be kept under the provisions of this section.

12 USC 248 - Enumerated powers

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be authorized and empowered:
(a) Examination of accounts and affairs of banks; publication of weekly statements; reports of liabilities and assets of depository institutions; covered institutions 

(1) To examine at its discretion the accounts, books, and affairs of each Federal reserve bank and of each member bank and to require such statements and reports as it may deem necessary. The said board shall publish once each week a statement showing the condition of each Federal reserve bank and a consolidated statement for all Federal reserve banks. Such statements shall show in detail the assets and liabilities of the Federal reserve banks, single and combined, and shall furnish full information regarding the character of the money held as reserve and the amount, nature, and maturities of the paper and other investments owned or held by Federal reserve banks.
(2) To require any depository institution specified in this paragraph to make, at such intervals as the Board may prescribe, such reports of its liabilities and assets as the Board may determine to be necessary or desirable to enable the Board to discharge its responsibility to monitor and control monetary and credit aggregates. Such reports shall be made
(A)  directly to the Board in the case of member banks and in the case of other depository institutions whose reserve requirements under sections 461, 463, 464, 465, and 466 of this title exceed zero, and
(B)  for all other reports to the Board through the
(i)  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the case of insured State nonmember banks, savings banks, and mutual savings banks,
(ii)  National Credit Union Administration Board in the case of insured credit unions,
(iii)  the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision in the case of any savings association which is an insured depository institution (as defined in section 1813 of this title) or which is a member as defined in section 1422 of this title, and
(iv)  such State officer or agency as the Board may designate in the case of any other type of bank, savings and loan association, or credit union. The Board shall endeavor to avoid the imposition of unnecessary burdens on reporting institutions and the duplication of other reporting requirements. Except as otherwise required by law, any data provided to any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States pursuant to other reporting requirement shall be made available to the Board. The Board may classify depository institutions for the purposes of this paragraph and may impose different requirements on each such class.
(b) Permitting or requiring rediscounting of paper at specified rate 
To permit, or, on the affirmative vote of at least five members of the Board of Governors, to require Federal reserve banks to rediscount the discounted paper of other Federal reserve banks at rates of interest to be fixed by the Board.
(c) Suspending reserve requirements 
To suspend for a period not exceeding thirty days, and from time to time to renew such suspension for periods not exceeding fifteen days, any reserve requirements specified in this chapter.
(d) Supervising and regulating issue and retirement of notes 
To supervise and regulate through the Secretary of the Treasury the issue and retirement of Federal Reserve notes, except for the cancellation and destruction, and accounting with respect to such cancellation and destruction, of notes unfit for circulation, and to prescribe rules and regulations under which such notes may be delivered by the Secretary of the Treasury to the Federal Reserve agents applying therefor.
(e) Adding to or reclassifying reserve cities 
To add to the number of cities classified as reserve cities under existing law in which national banking associations are subject to the reserve requirements set forth in section 20 of this Act, or to reclassify existing reserve cities or to terminate their designation as such.
(f) Suspending or removing officers or directors of reserve banks 
To suspend or remove any officer or director of any Federal reserve bank, the cause of such removal to be forthwith communicated in writing by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to the removed officer or director and to said bank.
(g) Requiring writing off of doubtful or worthless assets of banks 
To require the writing off of doubtful or worthless assets upon the books and balance sheets of Federal reserve banks.
(h) Suspending operations of or liquidating or reorganizing banks 
To suspend, for the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, the operations of any Federal reserve bank, to take possession thereof, administer the same during the period of suspension, and, when deemed advisable, to liquidate or reorganize such bank.
(i) Requiring bonds of agents; safeguarding property in hands of agents 
To require bonds of Federal reserve agents, to make regulations for the safeguarding of all collateral, bonds, Federal reserve notes, money, or property of any kind deposited in the hands of such agents, and said board shall perform the duties, functions, or services specified in this chapter, and make all rules and regulations necessary to enable said board effectively to perform the same.
(j) Exercising supervision over reserve banks 
To exercise general supervision over said Federal reserve banks.
(k) Delegation of certain functions; power to delegate; review of delegated activities 
To delegate, by published order or rule and subject to subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, any of its functions, other than those relating to rulemaking or pertaining principally to monetary and credit policies, to one or more administrative law judges, members or employees of the Board, or Federal Reserve banks. The assignment of responsibility for the performance of any function that the Board determines to delegate shall be a function of the Chairman. The Board shall, upon the vote of one member, review action taken at a delegated level within such time and in such manner as the Board shall by rule prescribe.
(l) Employing attorneys, experts, assistants, and clerks; salaries and fees 
To employ such attorneys, experts, assistants, clerks, or other employees as may be deemed necessary to conduct the business of the board. All salaries and fees shall be fixed in advance by said board and shall be paid in the same manner as the salaries of the members of said board. All such attorneys, experts, assistants, clerks, and other employees shall be appointed without regard to the provisions of the Act of January sixteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three (volume twenty-two, United States Statutes at Large, page four hundred and three), and amendments thereto, or any rule or regulation made in pursuance thereof: Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent the President from placing said employees in the classified service.
(m) [Repealed] 
(n) Board’s authority to examine depository institutions and affiliates 
To examine, at the Boards discretion, any depository institution, and any affiliate of such depository institution, in connection with any advance to, any discount of any instrument for, or any request for any such advance or discount by, such depository institution under this chapter.
(o) Authority to appoint conservator or receiver 
The Board may appoint the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as conservator or receiver for a State member bank under section 1821 (c)(9) of this title.
(p) Authority 
The Board may act in its own name and through its own attorneys in enforcing any provision of this title,[1] regulations promulgated hereunder, or any other law or regulation, or in any action, suit, or proceeding to which the Board is a party and which involves the Boards regulation or supervision of any bank, bank holding company (as defined in section 1841 of this title), or other entity, or the administration of its operations.
(q) Uniform protection authority for Federal reserve facilities 

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to authorize personnel to act as law enforcement officers to protect and safeguard the premises, grounds, property, personnel, including members of the Board, of the Board, or any Federal reserve bank, and operations conducted by or on behalf of the Board or a reserve bank.
(2) The Board may, subject to the regulations prescribed under paragraph (5), delegate authority to a Federal reserve bank to authorize personnel to act as law enforcement officers to protect and safeguard the banks premises, grounds, property, personnel, and operations conducted by or on behalf of the bank.
(3) Law enforcement officers designated or authorized by the Board or a reserve bank under paragraph (1) or (2) are authorized while on duty to carry firearms and make arrests without warrants for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States committed or being committed within the buildings and grounds of the Board or a reserve bank if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such a felony. Such officers shall have access to law enforcement information that may be necessary for the protection of the property or personnel of the Board or a reserve bank.
(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term law enforcement officers means personnel who have successfully completed law enforcement training and are authorized to carry firearms and make arrests pursuant to this subsection.
(5) The law enforcement authorities provided for in this subsection may be exercised only pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Board and approved by the Attorney General.
(r) Voting; documentation of determinations 

(1) Any action that this chapter provides may be taken only upon the affirmative vote of 5 members of the Board may be taken upon the unanimous vote of all members then in office if there are fewer than 5 members in office at the time of the action.
(2) 
(A) Any action that the Board is otherwise authorized to take under the second paragraph of section 343 of this title may be taken upon the unanimous vote of all available members then in office, if
(i) at least 2 members are available and all available members participate in the action;
(ii) the available members unanimously determine that
(I) unusual and exigent circumstances exist and the borrower is unable to secure adequate credit accommodations from other sources;
(II) action on the matter is necessary to prevent, correct, or mitigate serious harm to the economy or the stability of the financial system of the United States;
(III) despite the use of all means available (including all available telephonic, telegraphic, and other electronic means), the other members of the Board have not been able to be contacted on the matter; and
(IV) action on the matter is required before the number of Board members otherwise required to vote on the matter can be contacted through any available means (including all available telephonic, telegraphic, and other electronic means); and
(iii) any credit extended by a Federal reserve bank pursuant to such action is payable upon demand of the Board.
(B) The available members of the Board shall document in writing the determinations required by subparagraph (A)(ii), and such written findings shall be included in the record of the action and in the official minutes of the Board, and copies of such record shall be provided as soon as practicable to the members of the Board who were not available to participate in the action and to the Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and to the Chairman of the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
[1] See References in Text note below.

12 USC 2481 - Rules and regulations for transfer of funds and charges therefor among banks; clearing houses

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall make and promulgate from time to time regulations governing the transfer of funds and charges therefor among Federal reserve banks and their branches, and may at its discretion exercise the functions of a clearing house for such Federal reserve banks, or may designate a Federal reserve bank to exercise such functions, and may also require each such bank to exercise the functions of a clearing house for depository institutions.

12 USC 248a - Pricing of services

(a) Publication of pricing principles and proposed schedule of fees; effective date of schedule of fees 
Not later than the first day of the sixth month after March 31, 1980, the Board shall publish for public comment a set of pricing principles in accordance with this section and a proposed schedule of fees based upon those principles for Federal Reserve bank services to depository institutions, and not later than the first day of the eighteenth month after March 31, 1980, the Board shall begin to put into effect a schedule of fees for such services which is based on those principles.
(b) Covered services 
The services which shall be covered by the schedule of fees under subsection (a) of this section are
(1) currency and coin services;
(2) check clearing and collection services;
(3) wire transfer services;
(4) automated clearinghouse services;
(5) settlement services;
(6) securities safekeeping services;
(7) Federal Reserve float; and
(8) any new services which the Federal Reserve System offers, including but not limited to payment services to effectuate the electronic transfer of funds.
(c) Criteria applicable 
The schedule of fees prescribed pursuant to this section shall be based on the following principles:
(1) All Federal Reserve bank services covered by the fee schedule shall be priced explicitly.
(2) All Federal Reserve bank services covered by the fee schedule shall be available to nonmember depository institutions and such services shall be priced at the same fee schedule applicable to member banks, except that nonmembers shall be subject to any other terms, including a requirement of balances sufficient for clearing purposes, that the Board may determine are applicable to member banks.
(3) Over the long run, fees shall be established on the basis of all direct and indirect costs actually incurred in providing the Federal Reserve services priced, including interest on items credited prior to actual collection, overhead, and an allocation of imputed costs which takes into account the taxes that would have been paid and the return on capital that would have been provided had the services been furnished by a private business firm, except that the pricing principles shall give due regard to competitive factors and the provision of an adequate level of such services nationwide.
(4) Interest on items credited prior to collection shall be charged at the current rate applicable in the market for Federal funds.
(d) Budgetary consequences of decline in volume of services 
The Board shall require reductions in the operating budgets of the Federal Reserve banks commensurate with any actual or projected decline in the volume of services to be provided by such banks. The full amount of any savings so realized shall be paid into the United States Treasury.
(e) Parity in clearing 
All depository institutions, as defined in section 461 (b)(1) of this title, may receive for deposit and as deposits any evidences of transaction accounts, as defined by section 461 (b)(1) of this title from other depository institutions, as defined in section 461 (b)(1) of this title or from any office of any Federal Reserve bank without regard to any Federal or State law restricting the number or the physical location or locations of such depository institutions.

12 USC 248b - Annual independent audits of Federal reserve banks and Board

The Board shall order an annual independent audit of the financial statements of each Federal reserve bank and the Board.

12 USC 249 - Repealed. Pub. L. 94412, title V, 501(c), Sept. 14, 1976, 90 Stat. 1258

Section, act Aug. 8, 1947, ch. 517, 61 Stat. 921, dealt with regulation of consumer credit.

12 USC 250 - Independence of financial regulatory agencies

No officer or agency of the United States shall have any authority to require the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or the National Credit Union Administration to submit legislative recommendations, or testimony, or comments on legislation, to any officer or agency of the United States for approval, comments, or review, prior to the submission of such recommendations, testimony, or comments to the Congress if such recommendations, testimony, or comments to the Congress include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the agency submitting them and do not necessarily represent the views of the President.

12 USC 251 - Repealed. Pub. L. 104208, div. A, title II, 2224(a), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009415

Section, Pub. L. 102–242, title IV, § 477, Dec. 19, 1991, 105 Stat. 2387; Pub. L. 102–550, title XVI, § 1606(i)(3), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4089, required Board of Governors of Federal Reserve System to collect and publish information on availability of credit to small businesses.

12 USC 252 - Credit availability assessment

(a) Study 

(1) In general 
Not later than 12 months after September 30, 1996, and once every 60 months thereafter, the Board, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Directors of the Corporation, the Administrator of the National Credit Union Administration, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall conduct a study and submit a report to the Congress detailing the extent of small business lending by all creditors.
(2) Contents of study 
The study required under paragraph (1) shall identify, to the extent practicable, those factors which provide policymakers with insights into the small business credit market, including
(A) the demand for small business credit, including consideration of the impact of economic cycles on the levels of such demand;
(B) the availability of credit to small businesses;
(C) the range of credit options available to small businesses, such as those available from insured depository institutions and other providers of credit;
(D) the types of credit products used to finance small business operations, including the use of traditional loans, leases, lines of credit, home equity loans, credit cards, and other sources of financing;
(E) the credit needs of small businesses, including, if appropriate, the extent to which such needs differ, based upon product type, size of business, cash flow requirements, characteristics of ownership or investors, or other aspects of such business;
(F) the types of risks to creditors in providing credit to small businesses; and
(G) such other factors as the Board deems appropriate.
(b) Use of existing data 
The studies required by this section shall not increase the regulatory or paperwork burden on regulated financial institutions, other sources of small business credit, or small businesses.