The central bank of the United States is the Federal Reserve System. Congress created the Federal Reserve to ensure that there was an honest, safe, flexible, and stable banking system for our country. The Federal Reserve was officially created on December 23rd, 1913 when the Federal Reserve Act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson. 

The Federal Reserve is composed of a Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in important American cities. Together, the board and banks share the responsibility of supervising and regulating American financial institutions.

The reserve banks have several responsibilities, including:

• providing accounts to depository institutions--banks, thrifts, and credit unions--in which those institutions hold reserve balances, make loans to depository institutions, move currency and coin into and out of circulation, collect and process millions of checks and other payments each day, provide checking accounts and other services for the Treasury, issue and redeem government securities, and act in other ways as fiscal agent for the U.S. government;

• supervising and examining all bank holding companies and commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System for safety and soundness; 

• participating in the setting of monetary policy.