Federal Reserve
The U.S. central bank: the Federal Open Market Committee sets monetary policy; supervisors regulate many banks; staff provide payments, liquidity backstops, and financial-stability tools in stress.
The Federal Reserve System blends a Washington Board of Governors with twelve regional Reserve Banks that serve banks and the public in their districts. Congress assigns goals—today a dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices—while operational independence is meant to keep policy from short-run political pressure.
The FOMC steers short-term interest rates and, since 2008, balance-sheet policy (large-scale asset purchases or runoff) plus forward guidance about likely future policy. Those choices radiate through mortgages, business credit, the dollar, and asset prices.
Supervision, liquidity, and plumbing
The Fed supervises bank holding companies and state-chartered members, runs stress tests after crises, and operates discount-window lending. It also operates critical payment systems (Fedwire, FedNow) and can create emergency facilities when funding markets freeze—powers that make institutional legitimacy as contested as macro forecasts.
For dashboard readers
One national stance interacts with uneven state industry mix, housing wealth, and bank health. Trade- and labor-oriented views on this site help show where tight or easy money lands hardest.